THE FAREWELL Trailer
Awkwafina makes a dramatic turn in The Farewell, the latest from writer/director Lulu Wang.
In the movie, Awkwafina’s Billi finds out that her grandmother has terminal cancer, and to her surprise, her family is hiding it from the beloved matriarch. Instead of having everyone come together to say goodbye openly, a wedding is staged, and the relatives assemble for a fake celebration. Billi struggles to hide her true emotions, though, having little experience with this difference between eastern and western approaches to death.
The Farewell may sound dramatic, but Wang inserts plenty of humor to make this shared life experience more palatable. This builds on her previous film, Posthumous, another dramedy that allowed some humor and romance to smooth out a potentially prickly topic.
Another thing that should help the complicated emotions go down smooth is Awkwafina, who’s made a name for herself in comedy hits like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s Eight. This asks her to take on a more muted style of comedy, though, so anyone interested in her range will almost certainly be watching this film closely.
Rave reviews out of Sundance put The Farewell on the radar of many film fans, assuring that this little movie won’t get lost in the shuffle. Hopefully that attention will be earned.
The Farewell is directed by Lulu Wang and stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, and Gil Perez-Abraham. It will be released in the US on July 12th, 2019. Further release dates are not currently known.
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