The Farewell (2019) - A Review

 

The Farewell is a must-see movie.

 The Farewell is a drama/comedy (dramedy) movie released in the United States in 2019 starring Awkwafina, Zhao Shu-zhen, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Lu Hong, Jiang Yongbo, Chen Han, and Aoi Mizuhara. The Farewell was written, directed, and produced by Lulu Wang.

Zhao Shu-zhen as Nai Nai (left) and Awkwafina as Billi. Their relationship is absolutely believable.

In The Farewell, Awkwafina plays Billi Wang, a Chinese-American writer living in New York. She is very close with her grandmother, Nai Nai (played by Zhao Shu-zhen), who lives in China. After being rejected for a prestigious fellowship, Billi finds out from her parents, Haiyan (played by Tzi Ma) and Lu Jian (played by Diana Lin), that her grandmother has terminal lung cancer and she has only three months left to live. Nai Nai does not know that she has lung cancer or that she is dying because the whole family is hiding her diagnosis from her. The family has set up a wedding for Billi's cousin Hao Hao (played by Chen Han) and his girlfriend Aiko (played by Aoi Mizuhara) as an excuse to see Nai Nai one last time. Billi is not invited, though, as the family feels she will expose the truth about Nai Nai's health condition.

Billi goes to China anyway to see her grandmother. The whole family is shocked to see her there, especially Nai Nai. As the wedding nears, the mood is solemn, and Nai Nai suspects something is wrong, judging by Billi and her father's behavior. Billi promises to keep the secret from Nai Nai, but she is conflicted throughout. She questions the morality of keeping the truth from Nai Nai, but she learns that this is a difference between Chinese and American/western culture. Billi and Nai Nai spend a lot of time together and learn a lot about each other. Can Billi keep the secret from her grandmother, and will the wedding go off without a hitch?

The love of a family prevails.

The Farewell is based on director Lulu Wang's grandmother, and what she and her family went through after the terminal cancer diagnosis. The movie is very moving and emotional, and nothing feels fake or melodramatic. Awkwafina (whose comedy I am a fan of) is really understated in her portrayal of Billi. Really, everyone is pretty solemn in this movie, except for Nai Nai. Since she does not know that she is dying, she is the one full of life and not holding back emotionally. Really good performance by Zhao Shu-zhen as Nai Nai. Also great is Lu Hong playing herself as Nai Nai's younger sister. Though the movie is a bit solemn and sad, there is some nice comedy in it as well (nothing over the top, though). The visuals are great, the acting is excellent, and the story is interesting. It makes you ask yourself: What would you do in this situation?

Nai Nai supports Billi in ways Billi's parents may not have.

As you can imagine, I highly recommend watching The Farewell. It is a touching, emotional story that also makes you think. There are questions of morality and a clash of American/western and Chinese culture. It is the story of a family that really loves their grandmother/mother/aunt/sister, and the things they go through to protect her. Awkwafina and Zhao Shu-zhen were perfectly cast in their roles. I cannot wait to see what other stories Lulu Wang has to tell.

Reviewed by David Williams