A new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was opened next to our company. The feature is that there is a small shop that rents old DVD discs and a theater where you can order food and eat while watching movies. Today S happened to have no class to come to mom’s company. So in the evening we watched this Farewell together.
I have long heard that this is a film of tears and humor. The story tells the story of a girl who immigrated to the United States when she heard that the grandmother who lived in China and brought her up from childhood had lung cancer that could only live for three months, so the whole family returned to China from all corners of the country together, called the grandson’s wedding. She lied to her grandma for "seeing the last side". The American education of girl Billi makes her feel absurd: how can the fact of the illness be concealed from the client? In China, everyone thinks this is not a problem, because everyone does it.
The movie has a sad theme. It should be filmed according to the Chinese family ethics drama of "Longing" or "Tangshan Earthquake". It is estimated that a pot of dog blood will be spilled; while this movie makes sadness warm and humorous. It even feels "good-looking". Most of the time-starting from about fifteen minutes, I held a tissue in my hand and laughed while wiping tears; after the movie, a girl told me in the bathroom: Fortunately, I didn't apply eye makeup today. . It's been a long time since I watched this kind of film with an emotional plot that doesn't make people feel bitter. It's really rare.
But in the final analysis, the target audience of this film is still an American audience. As mentioned in the previous article, such a thing cannot be made into a movie in China, because everyone and every family does it. Everyone is doing what they think is good for you under the banner of "good for you". Billi's mother didn't tell her when her grandfather passed away, because she was still in school and "learning is important"; she always felt that her grandfather had disappeared, and that was the last contact with her hometown that was the most fragile in her heart. Nothing; her mother didn't tell her that grandma was sick this time, because "you can't hide your face." But at the same time, how can it be said that her mother doesn't love her, and they don't love her grandma? It is precisely because of love that her mother nurtured her (in life, directed by Lulu Wang) music and writing, which gave her the space to play today; it made them want her grandma to pass away happily, just like her grandma back then. Do the same to Grandpa, until I can't hide it, then tell him the truth. In the hotel lobby late at night, Dad and Uncle had a deep conversation, basically discussing which is the better way of family affection between the West and the East. It seems that there is no right or wrong, but the interesting thing is that the scene of the real grandma is released at the end (almost exactly the same as in the movie). The subtitles say: It has been six years since the diagnosis, and the grandma is still alive. If they choose to tell grandma the truth, will the ending be different?
I like many details of this movie: Billi sat on the ground crying and said that when she was a child, her grandfather took her to catch dragonflies. I cried as soon as she said it, because it was so real, it was definitely the director’s personal experience, as a six-year-old. The girl who immigrated to the United States with her family without relatives and no cause is the last remnant of her childhood in her hometown. Such details completely evoked the audience's memories of their ancestors and childhood-but which ethnicity, where immigrants, and who doesn't have such a grandpa or grandma? In the hotel, Billi hugged the head of his cousin who vented through wine. The second and third generations of the two families comforted each other. Only they have the empathy and love of their grandchildren for their grandparents, but because one speaks English and the other speaks Japanese. Communication; there is also the relationship between mother and grandma’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. From the mother’s perspective, grandma’s desire to control is also common to all cultures; other details seem to be that the director deliberately highlights the cultural differences between the East and the West, such as cupping and the confrontation on the table; It is understandable that the film is still based on the differences between the East and the West and faces the American market.
I also like many shots of the movie. I can see that the director’s background is from a class. For example, in the lobby of the hotel late at night, neon lights are shining on Billi’s face in the dialogue between life and death; there is also a low shot of Billi sitting on the floor crying in the hotel, the actor here The play also made me see Awkwafina who is better than the theater actor; the director's use of music also made me see her classical music background and characteristics; but some scenes made me feel a bit overwhelmed, such as knowing that grandma did not see the diagnosis The majestic slow motion of the family at the time of the book made me feel that the director seemed to want to develop in the art film but had no successful efforts.
Finally, I know the process of this movie. One day I was chatting with a boss in the company who was in charge of more than 10,000 people. After he knew that I was a Chinese, he said, "Have you seen The Farewell? It's good-looking." The boss himself is from an Indian immigrant family, and this movie is I watched it with a family of an American female professor who speaks Mandarin better than the Chinese. This has to explain the charm of the movie itself and the universal feelings it discusses.
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