I Watched Almost All A24 Movies, and This 97%-Rated Drama Is the Only One I Saw 3 Times

I first saw Lulu Wang's The Farewell in 2020, but it feels like yesterday – this quiet masterpiece is one of those movies that, once seen, stays with you forever.

I've seen it twice more in the past five years – so few only because it takes a lot of preparation to be so emotionally charged. The Farewell is a warm drama about premature grief, the passage of time, and the preciousness of the loved ones around us.

What Is The Farewell About?

Aspiring writer Billi lives in Brooklyn but maintains a close relationship with her Chinese grandmother, whom she calls Nai Nai.

The weekly phone calls are not a sign of trouble – Billi's parents are the ones who tell her. Nai Nai has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, but tradition dictates that she not be told the news.

To see her grandmother for the last time, a fake wedding is organized in China so that the entire family can come without arousing suspicion. Billi understands that this is all wrong, but flies home to say goodbye.

The Farewell Is a Modest Movie That Was Appreciated by Both Critics and Viewers

The Farewell was a hit at the Sundance and another success for A24. The negative reviews from the critics can be counted on one hand, and ordinary viewers could not resist the sincerity of The Farewell as well.

There is not much to add here – it is all true. This is a rare case when a worthy and very modest movie gets the attention it deserves.

The Farewell Is a Heartbreaking Story Told in a Comedic Way

The Farewell works best not as a story about Billi, but as a dramedy about premature grief.

Lulu Wang does not manipulate the viewer with plot devices such as the sudden deterioration of a woman's health; on the contrary, she takes the characters' fears to the point of absurdity and creates new comedic episodes.

For example, the whole family competes for a few minutes with the grandmother, when the grandson can't stand the pressure and starts to cry at his own wedding – his actions are justified by the fact that he is simply very happy to be getting married.

The Farewell Is a Heart-Wrenching Yet Life-Affirming Masterpiece

It's easy to say about movies like this that they make you remember your living relatives, whose health you're worried about, and the dead ones you couldn't say goodbye to.

But the power of The Farewell is not in its moralizing insistence on remembering your loved ones – the film simply tells the sincere story of a girl and her family who united during a crisis.

Without unnecessary drama, emotionally but not sentimentally, the characters talk about grief, regret and compassion, laugh at silly jokes and worry about their grandmother's health. There are no results or conclusions – each viewer will draw them for himself.