The Farewell

Written and directed by Lulu Wang, this compassionate, endearing, intergenerational-bonding, autobiographical comic drama revolves around a Chinese-American artist, Billi (Awkwafina), living in Brooklyn, who returns to her hometown in northeastern China when she learns that her adored Nai Nai (grandmother in Mandarin) has Stage IV lung cancer. The family decided not to tell Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) that she only has a short time to live, believing that anxiety could kill her before the cancer. Instead, Nai Nai’s two sons, their wives, and children gather in Changchun, ostensibly for the wedding of Billi’s cousin Hao Hao (Chen Han) and his Japanese girlfriend, Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara). Billi believes that suppressing her grief and hiding the severity of Nai Nai’s illness is wrong but—as the family reunion progresses—she begins to appreciate the intrinsic value not only of the deception but also of her Chinese culture/heritage. Wang’s story was previously told on NPR’s This American Life, both before and after Nai Nai outlived her original diagnosis. Recommended. (S. Granger)