The Farewell
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Film Festival 2019
Lulu Wang / United States of America, China / 2019 / 98 min / Unknown / DCP / In English, Mandarin / subtitles
Themes: Comedy, Drama
Rated: 
Mature subject matter. May not be suitable for minors. Individuals under the age of 15 are not admitted into cinemas
Description
In this darkly-comedic, yet uplifting tale, Chinese-born, American-raised Billi (Awkwafina) finds out that her “Nai-Nai” has tragically been diagnosed with lung cancer. Although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch is terminally ill, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. To spend her final moments together, they gather under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, uniting family members scattered around the globe. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate—a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother’s wondrous spirit, and the ties that bind families, even when so much goes unspoken.
Based loosely on her own childhood, writer/director Lulu Wang has created a heartfelt celebration of both the way we perform family and the way we live it, masterfully interweaving a gently humorous depiction of the “good lie” in action with a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us, often in spite of ourselves. ‘The Farewell’ deftly captures these often-complicated family dynamics with a poignant, well-acted drama that marries cultural specificity with universally relatable themes.
Director
Lulu Wang
Credits
- Screenwriter
- Lulu Wang
- Producer
- Daniele Melia, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng, Lulu Wang, Anita Gou
- Cinematographer
- Anna Franquesa Solano
- Editor
- Michael Taylor, Matthew Friedman
- Music
- Alex Weston
- Cast
- Awkwafina Tzi Ma Diana Lin Zhao Shuzhen Lu Hong Jiang Yongbo