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This film is the work of Lulu Wang, who not only directed the film but also wrote the script in which the story line is based on real people in her own family. Lulu Wang is a Chinese American who was born in 1983 in Beijing, China. Her father was a diplomat to China for the USSR. Lulu spent her early years in Beijing with her parents and briefly lived with her paternal grandmother for a year in Changchun, Northeast China, before emigrating to Miami, Florida at age 6 because her father was pursuing a PhD at the University of Miami. The two primary characters in the movie are Billi (the character in the film who represents Lulu herself as a young woman) and Nai Nai who is the aforementioned grandmother living in Changchun. The New York portion of the movie is filmed in New York City, and the Chinese portion is filmed in Changchun.
In the movie, the beloved grandmother is dying in China, and the family has decided not to tell their matriarch to protect her and prevent her from living in fear throughout her remaining days. Instead, they have planned a lavish wedding as an excuse to bring everyone together one last time.
Country: United States and China
Language: Mandarin and English
Release Date: 9 August 2019
Filming Locations: Changchun, China and New York City
Run Time: 100 minutes
“The Farewell” announces at the beginning that it’s “based on an actual lie,” but the meaningful truths it reveals couldn’t be more poignant or powerful. And while writer/director Lulu Wang’s film is obviously personal and culturally specific, it achieves a universality and a resonance through its vivid depiction of a family in the midst of crisis.
Billi and her stunned parents process the devastating news about the impending death of her dad’s mother and make plans to travel back to China for her cousin’s hastily announced wedding. Billi is shocked by the massive lie everyone is prepared to tell. (Apparently, this is not an uncommon practice in dealing with the impending death of a loved one.) It’s telling that Billi’s parents actually don’t want her to join them at first, they’re so concerned that her emotions for this woman she loves dearly will bubble to the surface and betray their ruse. At the same time, we see early on that Billi can be a cool liar herself about minor details in her daily life, and concocting stories should come naturally to her as an aspiring writer in New York—fascinating contradictions, all. Wang says so much about the dynamic between Billi and her parents—and about their dynamic with each other as husband as wife—through subtle glances and body language, through what they don’t say out loud.
It’s here that Wang explores cultural differences between East and West and between generations without judgment or pronouncement as to whose approach is best. It’s as if she wants to see all sides of the delicate argument with a kind heart and an open mind. Her approach is so intimate and so no-nonsense, she makes you feel as if you’ve been immersed in this town, this family, this life. And you may even find yourself changing your mind over the course of the film as to how you’d handle such a dilemma yourself.
The most frequent source of laughs (and, eventually, tears) is the firecracker at the film’s center: Nai Nai herself, played with sprightly charisma and plenty of zingers by Zhao Shuzhen. If you have a grandmother like this in your life, you’ll frequently find a smile of recognition spreading across your face; if you don’t have one, you’ll want one. Either way, bring tissues, because as delightful as Zhou is in this crucial, central role, she will also quietly rip your heart out by the film’s end.
In sharing her story with us, Wang achieves a masterful tonal balance throughout “The Farewell.” She’s made a film about death that’s light on its feet and never mawkish. She’s told a story about cultural clashes without ever leaning on wacky stereotypes or lazy clichés. And she’s pulled off one of the most perfect endings you’ll ever see. The entire film is pretty perfect, actually, and it’s one of the year’s best.