It was, in her words, an oasis in the middle of all of the Hollywood nonsense. It was on the air within a month. The Farewell became 2019's little indie movie that could, earning acclaim out of the gate at Sundance last January and going on to garner awards buzz for its phenomenal cast and, last night, a Golden Globe award for breakout starAwkwafina, who made history as the first Asian actress to win Best Actress at the Golden Globes. Wang first told the story on an April 2016 episode of This American Life, which piqued the interest of various producers, allowing her to make the movie. To spare Nai Nai from the stress of knowing her condition, the family flies to China and stages an elaborate fake wedding in order to see her one last time. Meanwhile, Wang is currently working on a new film, an adaptation of the short story Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein that takes place in the near future and, according to Wang, centers on questions of family and why we have children. The breakout hit of this years Sundance festival after a bidding war, it was picked up for a reported $7 million by A24 the movie has left jaded press corps in tears and generated serious awards chatter for its star. July 12, 2019, 12:15 PM. Shereturned to her hometown in China and even Nai Nais house! Like, a million times over! "Six years after her diagnosis, Nai Nai is still with us," reads a caption at the . And so thats why I made the film.. And when you saw how wonderfully raw she was, how she just sort of oozed Queens, it was like, Oh, she could be the black sheep of this family, easily,' Wang says. It's a family drama centering on a young Chinese . That lie is told by a . "[11], Director Lulu Wang says that she kept the secret from her grandmother during and after film production. This news won't be shocking to anyone who listened to Wang'sThis American Lifeepisode from 2016 about the same subject, but it nevertheless acts as a welcome surprise given that the conclusion otherwise felt tragically cathartic. You were whole once. -This American Life, Yes. Wang's mother told her over the phone, not in person like in the movie. 'Don't Tell Her')[3] is a 2019 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Lulu Wang. To further complicate an already complicated situation: Wang eventually decided to shoot her film about Nai Nai's illness in Changchun, the city where Nai Nai currently lives. Now The Farewellis opening in theaters around the country and Nai Nai is still, happily, aliveand well, now in her mid-80s. "You heard the gasp.". "[29] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "its moments of sweet sentimentality are fully earned and heartfelt. THE FAREWELL director Lulu Wang tells the harrowing tale about how she kept the content of her film about her grandmother a secret from her grandmother while shooting it right under her nose in her grandmothers neighborhood in China. TVs Streaming Bubble Has Burst, a Writers Strike Looms, and Everybody Is Freaking Out, Its Either Going to Be Really Funny, or Theyre Going to Be Horrified: An Oral History of. But she was suffering a crisis of faith in the film industry she had worked so hard to be a part of. My brother was born in America. In the film, the Chinese American woman played by Awkwafina, battles with her family to keep the secret. Why would they?, Did constructing another lie to make the movie she told her Nai Nai the film was about her family, but for obvious reasons wasnt specific on the details make it feel as if she was going through the same process again? She knew she had a film in the personal tale of her Chinese familys quest to keep her aging grandmother in the dark about her cancer diagnosis. "On one level, I didn't want to shoot in my grandma's hometown because, um, we're trying to lie to her," Wang told the audience after the movie's Sundance premiere. Lulu Wang. When Nai Nai visited the set, everyone still had to continue the lie; Wang told theTimes that Nai Nai thought that the movie was loosely based on our family, with everybody coming back to China for a wedding., Wangfinished the movie and premiered it at the Sundance Film Festival to enormous acclaim. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Billi intercepts Nai Nai's medical test results from the hospital and has it altered to reflect a clean bill of health, helping to maintain the lie. And, yet, as much as Billi disagrees with her family's decision, she also feels an inexorable pull toward the country in which she was born. Wang's own "Nai Nai," or grandmother in Chinese, was diagnosed with cancer and her family decided to keep the diagnosis from her. Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. But look, it says in the newspaper its called Dont Tell Her, and thats why you didnt tell me, because I am the her of the dont tell her., But we havent talked about it, so Ill see what happens when I see her.. 'The Farewell' Breakout Zhao Shuzhen Anchors Lulu Wang's Memoir Film When they were filming Awkwafinas tearful farewell to her screen grandmother, the real grandmother came up to her after an emotional take and kept inquiring, Whats wrong, why are you crying? The star had to bite her tongue. [26], Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film an A grade and praised Awkwafina's performance, writing, "As a Chinese-American grappling with the traditionalism of her past and its impact on the future, she's an absorbing engine for the movie's introspective look at a most unusual family reunion. Yeah, its great that you have this premise and that the grandmother is dying. She couldnt do that, so we decided to have her play herself. However, the true story behind The Farewell revealed that Lulu Wang's grandma was still alive when the movie was releasedin 2019. Instead, it was from marching across China when she was in the army. That's just the nature of being an immigrant and straddling two cultures. Wang told her shed send her some scenes. And so you just felt very torn. But as Beyer would soon realize, Finchs past wasnt what she claimedand Beyers own difficult history was up for the taking. Come along for the ride! December 3, 2019, 3:48pm. The website's critics' consensus reads: "The Farewell deftly captures complicated family dynamics with a poignant, well-acted drama that marries cultural specificity with universally relatable themes. Why is it in Mandarin? The filmcloses with an even more shocking title card: Six years after her diagnosis,Wangs real Nai Nai is still alive. Participants include:Pedro Almodvar (PAIN AND GLORY), Bong Joon Ho (PARASITE), Ladj Ly (LES MISRABLES), Cline Sciamma (PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE) and Lulu Wang (THE FAREWELL). When asked about her own grandmother, Wang revealed that she only recently found out about her cancer. "Six years after her diagnosis, Nai Nai is still with us," reads a caption at the end of the movie. So making this film became part of the lie. Not just limiting as a filmmaker like limiting as a human being., When Wang first started pitching what would become The Farewell to producers, it was that type of film what the director calls My Big Fat Chinese Family Wedding that they expected to sign on for. Every time I finish a film, its kind of depressing because you're kind of at the end but kind of at the beginning again, and youre just excited but also unsure, she said. [11] In an interview with Filmmaker, cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano stated that the references for the film included Force Majeure and Still Walking. It is ironic that films only get made now if they exist in another medium, added Weitz. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. When Elisabeth Finch met Jennifer Beyer in 2019, the two women forged a fiercely loyal friendship, and eventually got married. (After that, it was, You did this once already and youre so young Ang Lee didnt make his first movie until he was in his thirties and he was supported by his wife. That was always their reference point.) But Wang didnt relish the idea of repeating that disappointment or selling out. ButThe Farewell makes its debut in Chinese theaters onJanuary 25, 2019, which made it more likely that Wang's grandmother would find out and, of course, it was a Chinese-language review sent to her by a friend that would reveal it. [20][21] The film expanded further to over 800 theaters in the next few weeks, $1.4 million from 861 theaters, $882,623 from 816 theaters and $841,414 from 891 theaters. Wang's Nai Nai is still alive today but hasn't seen the film because she still doesn't know.