The Farewell
ComedyDrama
Roadshow
Directed by Lulu Wang
1hr 40mins
Buy TicketsAn audience favourite around the world, Lulu Wang’s playful and moving film is loosely based on her own life...and an “actual lie”. As a Chinese American woman, Billi (Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians, Jumanji 2) is caught between two countries, not wholly identifying with American culture or Chinese traditions. When her beloved grandmother Nai Nai’s persistent cough turns out to be terminal, the family decides it’s better not to tell her the prognosis. Instead, they arrange a quasi-fake wedding so the clan can pay their respects to their beloved matriarch, without mentioning her illness. Billi isn’t keen on the deceit, nonetheless she heads to China, doing her best to keep up the pretence. In this smart and funny tale, director Wang cleverly highlights the cultural and generational differences between East and West and the impact of severed connections and renewed family ties.