Jump to content

The Farewell (2019 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 109.77.209.211 (talk) at 12:43, 9 August 2019. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Farewell
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLulu Wang
Written byLulu Wang
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAnna Franquesa Solano
Edited by
  • Michael Taylor
  • Matthew Friedman
Music byAlex Weston
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25) (Sundance)
  • July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Mandarin
Budget$3 million[1]
Box office$7.8 million[2]
The Farewell
Simplified Chinese别告诉她
Traditional Chinese別告訴她
Literal meaningDon't tell her/Don't let her know
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBié Gàosù Tā

The Farewell is a 2019 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Lulu Wang. The film stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, and Jiang Yongbo and follows a family who, upon learning their grandmother has only a short while left to live, decide not to tell her and schedule a family gathering before she dies.

The film was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival[3] and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019, by A24. It received critical acclaim from critics, including praise for Wang's storytelling ability and Awkwafina's performance.

Plot

Aspiring Chinese-American writer Billi (Awkwafina) maintains a close relationship with her grandmother (Zhao Shuzhen)—Nai Nai (Mandarin for paternal grandmother)—who lives in Changchun, China.

After receiving a rejection letter for a Guggenheim Fellowship, Billi discovers from her parents, Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and Jian (Diana Lin), that Nai Nai has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and is predicted to have only a few months left to live.

Through deception and manipulation of medical test results, the diagnosis is kept secret from Nai Nai herself. Nai Nai is, instead, falsely told that her recent doctor visits are merely for benign findings. A wedding for Billi's cousin, Hao Hao (Chen Han), from Japan has been planned in China, as an excuse to unite the family together and spend what is expected to be one last time with Nai Nai. Fearing Billi will end up exposing the lie directly to her grandmother, Haiyan and Jian tell her to stay behind in New York City where she currently lives.

Billi disobeys her parents' orders and ends up flying to Changchun by herself, shortly after the rest of the family arrive there. Though Billi assures her parents that she won't reveal the cancer diagnosis to Nai Nai, throughout the trip Billi clashes with the rest of the family, including the doctor treating Nai Nai, over their deliberate dishonesty towards her grandmother.

Guilt-ridden, Billi expresses conflicted thoughts with her parents over the Chinese cultural beliefs that result in a family refusing to disclose such a life-threatening disease to the matriarch. One night, her uncle, Haibin (Jiang Yongbo), contends that the lie allows the family to bear the emotional burden of the diagnosis, rather than Nai Nai herself—a practice of collectivism that, Haibin acknowledges to Billi, differs from the individualistic values common in Western culture. Billi later learns that Nai Nai also created a similar lie to her husband when he was terminally ill up until his death.

On the day of the wedding, both Haibin and Hao Hao break down in tears on separate occasions, but manage to proceed through the rest of the banquet as planned without Nai Nai raising any suspicions. That night, Nai Nai gives Billi a hóngbāo, encouraging her to spend the money as she chooses. When Billi reveals to her grandmother about the Guggenheim Fellowship rejection, Nai Nai responds with encouragement, inspiring Billi to continue following her dreams.

Billi keeps her promise of maintaining the lie and shares a tearful goodbye with Nai Nai, as the rest of the visiting family members return to their homes in Japan and America. Shortly before the film ends, footage of director Lulu Wang's grandmother is shown, with accompanying text that reads: "Six years after her diagnosis, Nai Nai is still with us."

Cast

  • Awkwafina as Billi
  • Tzi Ma as Haiyan, Billi's father
  • Diana Lin as Jian, Billi's mother
  • Zhao Shuzhen as Nai Nai, Billi's grandmother
  • Lu Hong as Little Nai Nai, Nai Nai's younger sister
  • Jiang Yongbo as Haibin, Haiyan's older brother
  • Chen Han as Hao Hao, Haibin's son
  • Aoi Mizuhara as Aiko, Hao Hao's girlfriend
  • Chen Hanwei
  • Li Xiang

Production

The film was based on a story initially shared on This American Life.[4] Wang said that the film was based on her grandmother's illness, stating that "I always felt the divide in my relationship to my family versus my relationship to my classmates and to my colleagues and to the world that I inhabit. That's just the nature of being an immigrant and straddling two cultures."[5]

The film was primarily shot in Changchun, China over the course of 24 days in June 2018.[6][7] The filming also took place in New York.[8] In an interview with Filmmaker, cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano stated that the references for the film included Force Majeure and Still Walking.[8] However, she added that her main source of inspiration came from "spending time with Lulu's family at their home in Changchun, during pre-production.”[8]

Release

The film had its premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019.[9] In January 2019, A24 acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film for $7 million, over Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Fox Searchlight.[9][10] It was released in the United States on July 12, 2019.[11]

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend the film made $355,662 from four theaters for an average of $88,916 per venue; it was the best average of 2019, besting Avengers: Endgame's $76,601.[12] In its third weekend of release the film made $1.5 million from 135 theaters, finishing 10th.[13] The film continued to expand in its fourth weekend, making $2.4 million from 426 theaters and finishing seventh.[14]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% and an average rating of 8.78/10, with 200 out of 205 reviews being positive. The site's critics' consensus reads: "The Farewell deftly captures complicated family dynamics with a poignant, well-acted drama that marries cultural specificity with universally relatable themes."[15] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]

Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film an A− grade and praised Awkwafina's performance, writing, "As a Chinese-American grappling with the traditionalism of her past and its impact on the future, she's an absorbing engine for the movie's introspective look at a most unusual family reunion."[17] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote, "Wang movingly tells not just a story about the negotiations of familial love, but also of the immigrant experience, of revisiting one's homeland to, in some senses, say goodbye to it."[18] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "its moments of sweet sentimentality are fully earned and heartfelt."[19]

Awards

The Farewell won the Audience Award at the 2019 Sundance London film festival.[20]

References

  1. ^ Clark, Travis (August 3, 2019). "'The Farewell' is becoming one of 2019's top box-office success stories". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "The Farewell (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (November 28, 2018). "Sundance Unveils Politics-Heavy Lineup Featuring Ocasio-Cortez Doc, Feinstein Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "What You Don't Know". This American Life. December 12, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Saval, Malina (January 4, 2019). "10 Directors to Watch: Lulu Wang Shows Another Side of Awkwafina in 'The Farewell'". Variety. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  6. ^ ""To Revisit Such a Traumatic Experience for the Sake of Our Movie": Director Lulu Wang | The Farewell". Filmmaker. January 25, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "Awkwafina Leads 'The Farewell'; Marc Maron Brandishes 'Sword of Trust': Specialty Box Office Preview". July 12, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c ""Make This Conversation in a Small Room with White Walls Work": DP Anna Franquesa Solano on The Farewell". Filmmaker. January 31, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (January 27, 2019). "A24 Near WW Deal For Sundance Buzz Title 'The Farewell'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  10. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (January 27, 2019). "Sundance: Awkwafina Drama 'The Farewell' Lands at A24". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Erbland, Kate (February 21, 2019). "A24 Seeks Summer Box Office with Release Dates for 'The Farewell' and 'Last Black Man'". IndieWire. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 14, 2019). "Counterprogramming 'Crawl' & 'Stuber' Collateral Damage In Superhero Summer As 'Spider-Man' Climbs To $45M+ – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 14, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 27, 2019). "Hooray For 'Hollywood': Quentin Tarantino Sees His Biggest B.O. Opening Of All-Time With $40M+ As 'Lion King' Still Lords With $76M+ – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 27, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 4, 2019). "'Hobbs & Shaw' West Coast Business Driving Pic To $60M, But Looks To Overseas For More Muscle". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "The Farewell (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  16. ^ "The Farewell reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Kohn, Eric (January 25, 2019). "'The Farewell' Review: Awkwafina Gives Her Best Performance in Bittersweet Dramedy — Sundance". IndieWire. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  18. ^ Lawson, Richard (January 31, 2019). "Awkwafina Proves She's More Than a Comedian in The Farewell". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  19. ^ Rooney, David (January 25, 2019). "'The Farewell': Film Review | Sundance 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  20. ^ Dalton, Ben (June 3, 2019). "Lulu Wang's 'The Farewell' wins Sundance London 2019 audience award". ScreenDaily. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Farewell_(2019_film)&oldid=910065813"