Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
I’m currently on a mission to watch every single film on my Letterboxd watchlist. That’s a pretty miraculous feat since a) it’s over 1000 films long and b) I keep adding to it. However, I still think it’s doable and I’d like to attack it from three different perspectives.
Firstly, I’m going to work through the new releases on my watchlist. These are usually the 2026 films that I’d like to see in the cinema. I have a fun habit of committing to see new films on release and subsequently not seeing them until a random afternoon six years later.
Secondly, I’m going to use the shuffle function on Letterboxd and choose random films to watch on occasion. This may be something I film for reels, I haven’t quite decided yet.
Finally, I will be watching the oldest films on my watchlist in the order I initially added them. This film review is the beginning of this series. When I checked my watchlist, it was actually Parasite (2019) that is the oldest but there’s a Bong Joon-ho boxset I’d like to get my hands on next month and it’s in there so I opted to watch the second oldest, which was The Farewell (2019).
Director: Lulu Wang
Running Time: 100 minutes
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
Description
The Farewell has been on my watchlist, I believe, since its original release in 2019. Lulu Wang directs the film which is based on Wang’s personal life experiences involving her own Nai Nai. It follows Billi and her family as they grapple with the news her grandmother is dying of lung cancer.
The family’s instinct is to keep the information from the matriarch of the family, which is a regular occurrence within many Chinese families. However, as Billi and her parents live in New York, they have adopted some American values. This leads to debates between themselves and their family members who still live in China. They question what the ‘right’ thing to do is, if there can ever be such a thing in a terminal situation such as this.
Awkwafina stars as Billi, a writer struggling to get a fellowship in New York. She realises there’s something off in her father’s demeanour and when she questions it, her parents reveal that her beloved grandmother is dying. They have a close relationship despite the thousands of miles between them and it hits Billi hard.
The family decide to hold a wedding for Billi’s cousin as an excuse to gather together for what might be the final time. Despite being asked to remain at home because she is too emotional and easy to read, Billi uses her credit card to fly out for the celebration/possible goodbye.
I come from a complicated family and am no contact with several family members. This included my grandparents. When they passed away, I was extremely confused and wondered if I had done the right thing by excluding them from my life. I felt guilty and there was a small voice in the back of my mind telling me I was going to regret it for the rest of my life. However, several years later, I still feel sad that I didn’t get to see them but I have accepted there was nothing I could do because they weren’t willing to change their abusive behaviours. These emotions meant The Farewell was quite difficult for me to watch and there were many many tears shed.
Review
Lulu Wang is extraordinarily talented at filming faces in their subtle movements. She can say so much with her shots that the characters might not themselves be able to say out loud. Pictures of grief pass across the screen, recognisable and relatable to most people in the audience. She captures the micro gestures between relatives and shows us rather than telling us how everyone is feeling.
The scene where Nai Nai is waving her family goodbye as they start travelling home is devastating. You have the grandmother herself who is trying to keep everything together for the sake of her family when all she wants is them by her side in China. Then, you have the quiet anticipatory grief of those leaving her behind. Family is the most complex societal dynamic we have and each family has its own structure, feelings and complications. There is no such thing as a perfect family and this film embodies that perfectly.
The settings chosen also highlight both the differences and similarities between New York and Changchun. Billi feels home in both places, informing a hotel worker who asks which she prefers, that they are just different. There is a longstanding competitiveness and animosity between the two nations that often sees Chinese American people stuck between two cultures. The Farewell shows this in detail.
The film was nominated for, and won, several awards in the months following its release and I can see why. As a beautifully introspective and poignant look into family and culture, it certainly deserves these and more. Lulu Wang has since directed Expats (2024) which, compared with The Farewell, flopped somewhat.
She did say in an interview that both Chinese and American investors wanted a ‘prominent white character’ in the mix which may be what happened for us to get Nicole Kidman in Hong Kong not speaking any Cantonese, according to the reviews. If this is true, it’s incredibly sad because Wang is talented and if she could direct more features like The Farewell, I think she’d have a sustained, successful career.
Recommendation or Regret?
The Farewell is always going to be a recommendation. It’s one of the most touching films I’ve seen on family and it deserves the accolades it’s achieved. If you haven’t watched this already, I recommend doing so, especially if you need a good cry.
If you want to read more about media with complex family dynamics, read my review of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (2026).