Three stars. Rated PG, for no particular reason
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 7.26.19
Is there such a thing as a “good” lie?
Or are they merely lies of convenience?
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| Billi (Awkwafina, center right), burdened by a secret she cannot reveal, has no appetite for the lavish meal prepared by her beloved grandmother (Shuzhen Zhao, center left) and great-aunt (Hong Lu, far left). |
Bear in mind, as well, that the answer depends on cultural origins and expectations.
Indie writer/director Lulu Wang addresses such complexities in her second feature film, The Farewell, which she cheekily admits — up front — is “based on an actual lie.” Her story’s core relationship is the strong bond between Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) and her grandmother, Nai-Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), who has spent her entire life in Changchun.
The introverted Billi, an aspiring New York writer, struggles to make ends meet; to her vexation, she still relies on her parents — Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and Jian (Diana Lin), who live nearby — for occasional meals, their washing machine, and similar small favors. Despite recalling little of China, there’s a suggestion that Billi feels displaced: a soul perhaps not fully at ease with either half of her identity.
She enjoys frequent phone chats with Nai-Nai, which is how the film opens: on a typical call punctuated by Billi’s curiosity over the background sounds supplementing her grandmother’s voice. It’s nothing, Nai-Nai insists, when in fact she sits amid the hustle, bustle and background PA announcements of a busy hospital, where she has gone for some tests. A lingering cold and cough.
The test results are shared not with Nai-Nai, but with her doting younger sister, Little Nai-Nai (Hong Lu). The news is grim: terminal cancer, with death likely imminent.
Little Nai-Nai — with full support from the rest of the family — chooses not to share this information with her sibling. Better, everybody feels, to let Nai-Nai enjoy her final days in blissful ignorance.
(Also — and here’s our first brush with the cultural element — because the Chinese believe that the mere word “cancer” causes one so afflicted to give up and die.)
Well, not quite everybody; Billi, after extracting the truth from her parents, is appalled.
