The Farewell

Name: The Farewell
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: July 12, 2019
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 89
Cast: Aoi Mizuhara, Awkwafina, Becca Khalil, Diana Lin, Diane Dehn

2019

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 47 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 245 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 245 Ratings

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The Farewell

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Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: July 12, 2019 | Not Rated

Starring: Aoi Mizuhara, Awkwafina, Becca Khalil, Diana Lin, Diane Dehn, Gil Perez-Abraham, Han Chen, Hong Lin, Hong Lu, Ines Laimins, Jim Liu, Shuzhen Zhou, Tzi Ma, X Mayo, Yang Xuejian, Yongbo Jiang, Zhao Shuzhen

Summary: Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch, Nai-Nai, 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 familyChinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch, Nai-Nai, 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. [A24]… Expand

Director: Lulu Wang

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 100 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Alissa Wilkinson

Jul 10, 2019

Grief and love coexist in The Farewell, as do truth and fiction, past and present, sorrow and joy. It’s an outstanding, quietly devastating, deeply personal story, and one that’s destined to put Wang firmly on the map. Read full review

100

Clint Worthington

Jul 13, 2019

Wang, along with her stellar cast, manages to deftly weave droll, observational family comedy with deeply resonant examinations of the role of family and culture in our lives. It’s naturalistic without feeling downbeat, farcical without being goofy, and treats its cultural signposts with a sensitivity and honesty few filmmakers can achieve. Read full review

100

Matthew Monagle

Jul 17, 2019

Sometimes, the movie argues, it’s the things we don’t say that prove how much we care. Billi’s path to acceptance of this makes The Farewell one of the most heartfelt homecoming films in years. Read full review

Barry Hertz

Jul 17, 2019

Unlike "Crazy Rich Asians," which had eyes for narrative substance but shamelessly flirted with the superficial, The Farewell is a more substantive, engrossing and ultimately deeper work about the bonds that hold and strengthen us. Read full review

Karen Gordon

Jul 19, 2019

The Farewell isn’t tour de force filmmaking. It doesn’t have to be. In telling her own story, or something close to it, Wang has managed to stand far enough back to see the crazy wonderful way in which a family dynamic — full of strange and wonderful ideas about how to live life uplifts us — and has delivered a gentle little gem. Read full review

Empire Nick de Semlyen

Sep 16, 2019

Both a vehicle for Awkwafina’s formidable talents and an incredibly charming ensemble piece. If there’s any justice, it’ll be remembered when it comes to award-scattering season. Read full review

Anthony Kaufman

Feb 1, 2019

The Farewell is so fixated on its principle problem that it doesn’t allow its story or its characters to veer from it, or find further complexities in it. There’s only so many scenes a story can take of family members trying to keep the truth from grandma before it become less compelling. Read full review

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User Reviews

Shartur

Jul 12, 2019

Awkwafina is just fantastic this is a must see I can’t believe how much potential she has... this is an Oscar contender fur sure

7 of 9 users found this helpful72

FrostyGamma

Aug 4, 2019

The actors in this film are all good. Awkwafina gives a restrained but moving performance as Billi. Zhao Shuzhen plays a joyful, bossy, endearing Nai Nai - the necessary heart to the film. She makes it easy to see why her family cares so much for her. Diana Lin as Billi's mother Jian showsThe actors in this film are all good. Awkwafina gives a restrained but moving performance as Billi. Zhao Shuzhen plays a joyful, bossy, endearing Nai Nai - the necessary heart to the film. She makes it easy to see why her family cares so much for her. Diana Lin as Billi's mother Jian shows the tension of holding her emotions under a mask of dignity.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

DawdlingPoet

Nov 20, 2021

I liked how understated this film is - it does well at portraying the quirks of various family members and showing how they all come together. Its relatively amusing at times, with some of the dialogue and at other times its quite thought provoking and poignant even. The subjectI liked how understated this film is - it does well at portraying the quirks of various family members and showing how they all come together. Its relatively amusing at times, with some of the dialogue and at other times its quite thought provoking and poignant even. The subject matter/themes are quite serious and I'm pleased that their treated sensitively. It gives a good insight into Chinese family culture and how they deal with impending death. I would definitely recommend this film, yes.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TheRaggedFlygon

Aug 25, 2019

The Farewell is a powerful film that demonstrates a side of Awkwafina's repertoire that we do not often see-her more dramatic, serious side. She plays the lead role fantastically and is supported by quality performances from the rest of the cast. While this film's tone is for the most partThe Farewell is a powerful film that demonstrates a side of Awkwafina's repertoire that we do not often see-her more dramatic, serious side. She plays the lead role fantastically and is supported by quality performances from the rest of the cast. While this film's tone is for the most part serious, it does have good comedic beats that are truly funny rather than just your average slapstick comedy. Overall, Lulu Wang is able to carefully walk the fine line between making the movie flat out depressing and making the audience unable to take it seriously through her clever blend of drama and comedy. The plot of this film ultimately takes a unique approach into investigating cultural differences and how said differences affect our familial relationships. This film at the end of the day is about those familial relationships and how they can be strained during times of sadness. You don't have to be Asian or Asian American to find this film relatable or enjoyable. My criticisms of this film are brief and mainly amount to: this film didn't do a whole lot that I haven't seen before. This film is very well crafted from start to finish. The direction, writing, cinematography, and acting are all superb, but at the end of the day I feel that a lot of the messages that this film tries to get across can be found in very similar ways in other films. This film is a must see, but in my opinion is not as revolutionary as some might say.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

KenR

Dec 4, 2022

The Farewell - Brings It All Home (do you tell them or keep it secret?) Spoiler Free

Writer/director Lulu Wang’s first feature is about as good as it gets for a debut, especially one based on emotional situations involving her family. She captures the divide I suspect many immigrants mustThe Farewell - Brings It All Home (do you tell them or keep it secret?) Spoiler Free

Writer/director Lulu Wang’s first feature is about as good as it gets for a debut, especially one based on emotional situations involving her family. She captures the divide I suspect many immigrants must experience when settling in a new country and identifying with a new culture. In some ways, it might have been good for her to play herself in the lead. But then, with being a first attempt at feature movie making and a project as personally involving as this, I agree, that would have been a hefty call.

Her cast is marvelous, with each delivering perfect characterizations to the somewhat demanding situations they bring to life. It’s billed as a comedy (I figure mainly for the sales angle) and while there’s a good degree of ironic humor, I seemed to spend more time with watery eyes. Her director of photography, Spanish-born Anna Franquesa Solano delivers highly professional steady images, for what appears to be only her second feature and it's a welcome relief from the clumsy wobble cam so often found in Indi shows. Perhaps it’s a little longish at 1h40m and might have done with less of the slow-mo (although some of this is emotionally strong) Composer Alex Weston provides a thoughtful score and the careful selection of additional accompanying songs is superb, all helping to create a warm feel to proceedings.

It’s to be hoped we see more quality features from this talented young woman, and that she may resist the temptation to throw it away on lowly commercial features – she certainly has proven that independent stories can out-gross even the big budget productions. The DVD features extras and is nicely transferred, although the white subtitles would have benefitted from an added black drop-shadow (and yes, one of the deleted scenes should not have even been considered for the final script, a good decision by whoever made it) Above Average. I'm wondering just what the Chinese didn't like about this pic (but can guess)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Oct 31, 2019

This grandma's cookie has a sweet afterthought recipe that you have to be prepared for beforehand.

The Farewell The writer and director Lulu Wang is on mark. To say that she is onto something would be understating things. And I do mean just this film and not her work throughout her career.This grandma's cookie has a sweet afterthought recipe that you have to be prepared for beforehand.

The Farewell

The writer and director Lulu Wang is on mark. To say that she is onto something would be understating things. And I do mean just this film and not her work throughout her career. For the film is armed with an extremely powerful script. And if looking at her procedure, her execution of this film, it certainly follows textbook rules efficiently. There might not be any boundaries broken or creativity flared across the screen, but just authenticity is displayed. And if thought about it, her own script doesn't leave anything for her to stretch and celebrate.

The script is beautifully, sharply and almost necessarily edited. Each sequence makes sense, one after the another adds up and lines up fittingly. It flows like it should. If you take out one string of this film, the entire film falls apart. The theme is specifically specific in terms of the situational objections it creates yet, with an incredible set of characters and cast, the branches are important in this tree and they set out arguably one of the finest generic and timely film. It also is said to be funny.

But it isn't funny in the sense that it makes you chuckle. It makes those characters happy and not us. We as an audience are told to be focused on entirely something else. Those sub texted narrative points is where The Farewell makes this emotionally simple and sweet departure so heavy. The Farewell also has this one fine quality that I miss these days. And that is that there is no way you can predict where this is all going. Leading towards. We are sort of like the Nai Nai character in the film. But then it doesn't matter if the elders (the younger in the story and the makers outside the story) says to just tuck it in.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Stevenw4

Aug 30, 2019

One of those long, drawn-out movies where there isn't much to the plot but critics say it is marvelous. Don't waste your money. It's not entertaining. It's not an escape. It's literally like watching a teenage drama student's movie-making school project.

1 of 7 users found this helpful16

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11	#11 Best Movie of 2019
78	#78 Most Discussed Movie of 2019
35	#35 Most Shared Movie of 2019