The Farewell

I finally got to see The Farewell yesterday, and it was lovely. Unlike Crazy Rich Asians, this film portrayed a middle class Chinese family, and the wedding was set in a typical banquet hall, with the usual feast, photos, toasts, karaoke, drinking games, etc. One branch of the family had moved to America, another branch to Japan, and the bride was Japanese, so it was a truly international family. Most of the dialogue is in Mandarin Chinese, with some English when Billi is speaking with other English speakers. The poor Japanese bride is unable to understand the family talking around her but she does get a translator to speak for her at the wedding reception. Nai Nai thinks she's dumb, and I often in my real life feel dumb when the rest of my family is speaking Vietnamese and I don't understand.

Awkwafina did great with both the humor and the emotional drama. The other actors were wonderful too, as the family grew increasingly tense and anxious around Nai Nai, and they discussed the differences in East and West views of what burdens a family must bear. Nai Nai's sister tells Billi that Nai Nai lied to her husband when he was dying too, so why should she be angry with them for lying about her lung cancer? In fact, the movie begins with Nai Nai calling Billi from a hospital and she lies to her granddaughter that she's visiting a relative at their house. There are after all numerous white lies we tell our loved ones every day, with good intentions.

I'm hopeful that more Asian American movies will get made now, and this won't just be a passing fad that's forgotten like Joy Luck Club years ago. Crazy Rich Asians was a luxurious, over-the-top fantasy, but there should be room for all kinds of Asian stories now.