Film Review: The Farewell Is For Children of Immigrants
Synopsis: In this funny, uplifting tale based on an actual lie, Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch, Nai-Nai (grandma), has been given mere weeks to live, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. To assure her happiness, they gather under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, uniting family members scattered among new homes abroad. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, 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 keep on binding even when so much goes unspoken.
Written and directed by Lulu Wang, The Farewell was a stunning ode to “second-generationers” like myself. We are the children of immigrants; raised in between two worlds and discovering that the loss of one did not, necessarily, bring the “gain” of another. Every immigrant’s story feels the same; our parents left their beloved country and culture because they believed, in another country, they would find more social and economic freedom. In this “half-truth,” Awkwafina gives one of the best performances of the year.
Awkwafina plays BiIli; a quintessential millennial struggling to make money, fight for her dreams, and feel hopeful and “in place” in a world where she has no standing. From the beginning, Director Wang makes Billi a “floating” character; a person eager to find stability and roots while terrified that such notions come in exchange for her dreams. Awkwafina justifies Billi’s fear, by witnessing how her parents, Tzi Ma’s Haiyan and Diana Lin’s Jian, gave up their country and family to achieve a semblance of security and prosperity. When the family finds out that Nai Nai is terminally ill, each member begins to wonder whether they, actually, achieved better by leaving the loved ones they had.
THE FAREWELL | Official Trailer HD | A24
I cried at so many points throughout this film. I even collected my international data and called my grandma because I was so moved by Shuzhen Zhao’s performance as Nai Nai. She was mine and everyone’s grandmother; the ultimate loving and faithful believer in her grandchild, Billi. Zhao is a breath of freshness, joy, and strength to the screen. She is so impactful with her performance that you, as a viewer, fear that she will be lost. There is an essence that she is “too good” to leave this world; we need her. Hence, her sons, like her grandchildren, are not only grieving her because she is dying, but they are also terrified that they left her for no reason. In part, they are mourning the life they could have had by her side had they not immigrated.
Awkwafina shares the tearful reactions to ‘The Farewell’
The latter statement makes me cry, and it is why Billi, herself, has a breakdown. She, like every immigrant and their children, wonders if they would have been happier had they stayed with their family and their culture. After all, there can be so much prejudice and inaccessibility to prosperity in America that it is natural to question whether coming here was worth leaving there. It is a discussion that pops up over the dinner table, where family members argue whether China’s issues outweigh those of America. Once again, going back to a core challenge for any immigrant and their kids who grow up alone in their new country: is anything worth leaving your family?
Lulu Wang has created a masterpiece of the heart. The Farewell is so simple that it is profound. I cannot reiterate enough how perfect and impactful it is in humanizing immigrants and their children in a time when both are being locked in cages. Thank you, Lulu Wang! See The Farewell on July 12.
