The Farewell (2019)
So far my favorite movie of the year is Netflix’s film Paddleton which shows us a man and his best friend deal with his impending death from cancer which he has decided to handle by getting the medication to take his life early before he has to suffer. The Farewell is also about trying to avoid the suffering that comes from death and terminal illness but instead of accepting what is happening and being totally open about the situation this is about avoiding suffering by hiding the truth. Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) is a grandmother living in China who has become diagnosed with terminal Stage 4 Lung Cancer, to stop her from suffering her family has decided to not tell her of this condition and to set up a fake wedding in order to have everyone come to China and see her one last time. Her granddaughter Billi (Awkwafina) is living in New York City as a struggling writer who can’t quite seem to find her footing in her ideal independent life. As she travels to China with her parents to see Nai Nai she has to come to terms with losing her grandma and the choice not to tell her yet no matter how hard things get she and the rest of the family cannot tell Nai Nai the truth which also pushes her morals. Even past the general premise which sounds incredible and it is a great counter-piece to my favorite movie of the year but also this movie got an incredible amount of buzz coming out of its debut at Sundance and has continued to be in the conversation of being one of the best films of the year for the entire 7ish months since then. This has become one of the hot topics of the summer so when it got released near me I was ecstatic to finally see what the buzz was about and after many tears, I can say that I am on board with pretty much everyone else. This is an amazing film and easily joins Paddleton as being one of my favorites of the year.

Just like with Paddleton it is clear from the premise alone that this is going to be an emotional powerhouse. Even more than Paddleton this has such relatable emotions and situations as most have dealt with the goodbye and death of a grandparent and this film handles this emotion in really talented ways. It feels so real and impactful and I think so much of this is due to how they refuse to glorify those emotions. Sure there is an incredible sense of sadness in these characters but similar to at least my experiences in real life when those big moments come they are quiet and raw. They don’t get huge prepared monologues which wraps every bit of emotion up perfectly and that is how this movie works and it's those moments that I find hit the hardest. I also love how unprepared the emotions feel in this movie, as these characters (specifically that of Billi) have to confront this situation things are not always clean and rational. They are filled with unexpected mood swings as the pain comes from unexpected places and they create various plans that often are not well thought out or that actually happen as ways to find stability and make the situation feel right to them. For example on a whim, Billi decides that instead of going back to New York she wants to stay in China and take care of Nai Nai. This plan quickly falls through and makes no sense with where she is in her life and the situation as a whole but this feels real. When I had to deal with the passing of my grandma who also got diagnosed out of the blue with cancer with no real warning and a short life expectancy the same thoughts went through my mind. In these situations of pain and trauma, your logic goes out the window and you feel the need to do things to give you the closure you desire. If you have personal connections like this where you can relate to the story it really does hit you and hurt you (which I mean in the best of ways).

The acting is also really noteworthy. Awkwafina plays Billi and I have to say despite her being a highlight of other films in the past like Oceans 8 this is a breakout role for her. The depth of the emotion she is able to show here as she has to hide emotions that are impossible to ignore while also trying to find the right way to handle this really difficult position of having to keep this lie going that she doesn’t agree with. Even beyond the situation with her grandma, she is struggling to find her path in life and is going through a ton already. There is so much to her character which I love, so many characters like this are defined by their reactions and sadness to the main situation but she is so much more and feels like a real well-rounded character. It also helps that Awkwafina is able to handle this impressively turning in one of the best performances of the year so far. Zhao Shuzhen is also a standout as her grandma. I will say that she is not given nearly as much depth as the other actors with her main goal being to be as sweet and innocent as possible but she does excel at this. Of course, this performance is amplified as the audience projects their own grandmas onto her but she does a really wonderful job being an absolute joy. Though the people to really shock me in this film was Billi’s parents. Diana Lin plays her mother and she is given some extremely hard materiel. This is an actor who of course is sympathetic of others and is saddened herself by the situation but she is also brutal. She has her beliefs on how people should show emotions which seems cruel. This is not a character you like but it also isn’t that she is evil. She just has emotional walls up that comes off as disgusting in these emotionally raw situations but it also is hard to judge her as it's her own way of coping. This is a nuanced character and the award-worthy performance from Lin helps bring this to life. The same can be said about Tzi Ma who plays her dad yet he is much more sympathetic and hurt by the situation being Nai Nai’s actual son. Even more than Billi, he not only has to keep this lie while dealing with these emotions but also has to balance being there for his daughter which is a big job that he can’t perfectly handle but hell, no one could.
The quality of filming from Lulu Wang is also apparent throughout this movie. obviously to create such strong emotions takes a great sense of sympathy and understanding of human emotion but even beyond the emotions in this movie this is so well crafted. The pacing is smart while the cinematography and general visual direction are really well done. It brings you into these beautiful warm moments of family such as their family dinners (which also had some of the best-looking food of the year) but also is great at keeping the sense that something is off alive with some really interesting shots and choices that never feel like they are trying too hard. The original score from Alex Weston is easily one of the best scores of the year so far and I must say that beyond just this films narrative on death and family there are some really interesting smaller pieces to this film. From conversations to differences between China and America to what is really important in life to cultural identity. There is so much to this movie and so much you could really get into depending on what lens you choose to view the movie from. All this is perfectly weaved into the plot of the film easily making this also one of my favorite screenplays of the year so far.
If it was not clear already this film is one of my favorites of the year so far. Every aspect of this movie is done to such a high level of quality and I think it all comes together near perfectly. The only minor issue I could see someone having with the film is that it doesn’t have a ton of resolution on it’s deeper conversations, sure the actual plot has a conclusion but as far as the narrative it is exploring it more establishes sides and lets the conversation play out without ever choosing aside to claim to be the right one. But that is very minor and I don’t think it hurts the movie in any way, the lets the audience put themselves into the situation and project their own experiences onto these characters and their situation which I think makes it much more impactful and engaging. A24 has done it once again and if this is playing near you I absolutely think you should go out of your way to see it. Let the awards campaign begin!
The quality of filming from Lulu Wang is also apparent throughout this movie. obviously to create such strong emotions takes a great sense of sympathy and understanding of human emotion but even beyond the emotions in this movie this is so well crafted. The pacing is smart while the cinematography and general visual direction are really well done. It brings you into these beautiful warm moments of family such as their family dinners (which also had some of the best-looking food of the year) but also is great at keeping the sense that something is off alive with some really interesting shots and choices that never feel like they are trying too hard. The original score from Alex Weston is easily one of the best scores of the year so far and I must say that beyond just this films narrative on death and family there are some really interesting smaller pieces to this film. From conversations to differences between China and America to what is really important in life to cultural identity. There is so much to this movie and so much you could really get into depending on what lens you choose to view the movie from. All this is perfectly weaved into the plot of the film easily making this also one of my favorite screenplays of the year so far.
If it was not clear already this film is one of my favorites of the year so far. Every aspect of this movie is done to such a high level of quality and I think it all comes together near perfectly. The only minor issue I could see someone having with the film is that it doesn’t have a ton of resolution on it’s deeper conversations, sure the actual plot has a conclusion but as far as the narrative it is exploring it more establishes sides and lets the conversation play out without ever choosing aside to claim to be the right one. But that is very minor and I don’t think it hurts the movie in any way, the lets the audience put themselves into the situation and project their own experiences onto these characters and their situation which I think makes it much more impactful and engaging. A24 has done it once again and if this is playing near you I absolutely think you should go out of your way to see it. Let the awards campaign begin!