“Anyone can connect with the guilt and regret when you leave home and you’re not spending as much time with the people that you love,” said Lulu Wang, the director of the movie The Farewell during her interview with the magazine Slate. The film was relatable to most audiences since they have similar experiences of leaving their hometown. Along with leaving one’s hometown, Wang deals with the farewell among people throughout the movie. The film portrays the interiority of each character when they are bidding farewell through various cinematic devices.

The comedy-drama The Farewell was directed and written by Lulu Wang. The film won 26 awards so far and is currently one of the most acclaimed films. Recently, the film was nominated for the Golden Globe award for “best motion picture – foreign language” in 2020, and Awkwafina, who played the main character, Billi, was awarded “best performance by an actress in a motion picture – musical or comedy.” As the film well-delivered the cultural differences of the Western and Eastern societies, it gained high ratings from both corresponding audiences. Moreover, the film was also allowed to be released in China, which rarely happens to foreign films.

The comparison of Western and Eastern culture is shown through Billi’s eyes. A Chinese girl, Billi, was raised in the United States (U.S.) and is, therefore, more familiar with Western culture. She comes back to China since Nai Nai, Billi’s grandmother, has cancer. However, the family decides not to tell Nai Nai that she has been diagnosed with cancer because, according to Chinese culture, “if you get cancer, you die.” Billi feels guilty lying to Nai Nai since she has a Western point of view. However, her family does not let her tell the truth and decides to spend the last days of Nai Nai’s life all together. The title The Farewell, therefore, has a dual meaning; Billi’s experience after the farewell with her hometown and Billi’s upcoming farewell with Nai Nai.

Based on an Actual Lie

The film is autobiographical, which is why the director claimed that it is “based on an actual lie.” Though Wang said the movie is fictitious at the ending credit, part of the plot was based on her own experience. “It was a very isolating experience when I was in China alone, and I felt like no one ever understood me because I was the only pure American in the family with pure American values,” said Wang. As Wang herself is Chinese-American, she reflected her real thoughts and feelings about her hometown in Billi’s character.

Wang shot the film in Changchun, China, which is Wang’s grandmother’s actual hometown, and cast Chinese actors to play the role of Billi’s family. Wang finally cast Zhao Shuzhen to play the role of Nai Nai. Zhao then met Wang’s grandmother, the actual main character of the story, to perform the role of Nai Nai more realistically. Additionally, Lu Hong, Billi’s grandmother’s younger sister, played herself in the film. The remarkable acting of the cast members portrayed the actual personalities of the real characters and added to the impact of the film.

Cinematographic Devices

The practical usage of music was remarkable. Director Wang used music to deliver the character’s emotion, which cannot be fully addressed through the lines. As the storyline focuses on portraying Billi’s feelings, the background music harmonizes very well with the character’s actions. The movie primarily uses classical music to show the grief of the family. As the family cannot express their sadness in front of Nai Nai, the gloomy background music portrays their emotions indirectly. Moreover, in the last scene where Billi leaves Nai Nai and her Chinese home, Wang made use of the song “Come Healing.” The lyrics of this song give messages to Billi - or maybe to the director herself - that heal the “solitude of longing.”

Besides this, several scenes in the film were quite symbolic. The director inserted three scenes of Billi watching smoke. These scenes link to Billi’s line when she confesses her feelings about Nai Nai to her mom: “now she’ll be gone, too.” Given that smoke flies away and disappears, this implies that Billi is worrying Nai Nai might soon pass away. This is shown most clearly in the first smoke scene, which has gloomy background music.

Coexistence of Different Cultures

One of the typical Eastern values is a strong sense of community, justifying Billi’s family’s decision. To them, the whole family should be responsible for preparing the farewell of Nai Nai. Western-valued people would think it should totally be Nai Nai’s decision on how she wants to live the rest of her life. However, Eastern society puts more emphasis on other community members’ opinions. As Nai Nai also has Eastern values, she would probably understand the family’s decision as most Chinese people would choose this way.

The Chinese title of the film is Do Not Tell Her. The director most likely named the film differently to indicate the cultural difference better. As mentioned above, the movie starts with a clash of the two distinct cultures; Billi conflicts with other family members on whether they should tell Nai Nai she has cancer or not. The cause of the conflict was mentioned through Billi’s uncle’s line directed to Billi: “You think one’s life belongs to oneself. But that’s the difference between the East and the West. In the East, a person’s life is a part of a whole; family, society.”

The film delivered the message that two different cultures can harmonize. “One of the few good memories of my childhood were those summers at Nai Nai’s.” Although Billi is not entirely familiar with Eastern culture and values, her vacations spent in China remain in her memory. Wang gives hope that we can overcome a clash of cultures by showing how Western-minded and Eastern-minded family members stayed well.

Film Information

Title: The Farewell
Director and Writer: Lulu Wang
Released Date: January 25, 2019
Running Time: 100 minutes
Cast: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Tzi Ma