This review will be split into two parts; the first consisting of my initial thoughts prior to the premiere, and the second being my reaction thereafter.
Before the Premiere
I initially saw the trailer for this movie back in May, when I saw it linked somewhere on Twitter.
I was immediately drawn in. The trailer had a light and airy feel to it, yet it left your chest a bit tighter than when you began it. The end of the trailer is particularly moving, and includes the song Power Hungry Animals by The Apache Relay, which is the perfect combination of righteous triumph and dramatic inflection. It conveys to you that this film will have a happy ending, but there will be a lot of emotional strife along the way to get there. The trailer was beautiful, and tucked it away in the back of my mind; a simple mental note to go see when it would be in theaters in July.
Fast-forward a month or so, and I was getting targeted ads on Instagram, detailing a special showing of the film at a hotel in LA, with a Q&A afterwards. I jumped on the opportunity, and bought three tickets, so my mom, sister and I could go see it a week or so before the release. Today, June 26th, marks the special day, and I am very excited to see Lulu Wang’s film. That being said, there are a couple thoughts that have been circling in my mind, leading up to the premiere.
One. I didn’t expect this from myself because I don’t get attached to specific actors, but I am incredibly excited to see Awkwafina in a more dramatic role. After seeing Ocean’s 8 (2018), and Crazy Rich Asians (2018), I know that she can effectively bring comedy to the table. Even when looking at her past musical repertoire as a rapper, her comedic side always shines through. Everything is very fun, very happy, and always has a punchline. However, like Steve Carell, I think Awkwafina could have a great dramatic career, with this role being a turning point. While there are still light-hearted and comedic parts in this role, I think the familial aspect, when juxtaposed with the obvious internal strife her character endures, will allow for this to be one of Awkwafina’s landmark roles. As a fan of her music and other movies, I am very excited to see this new facet of her talents.
Two. This is a true story; it’s Lulu Wang’s experience regarding her own grandmother(as detailed in a May 2016 story of NPR’s This American Life). Now, I’m a sucker for movie realism. While I respect the use of certain cinematic elements to portray how a character is feeling, I love when a movie is entirely plausible. To me, it heightens its effect, and causes it to stick in my mind longer. When something feels like it can happen to you, or your mom, or your neighbor across the street, it creates a connection between the audience and the movie that creates an emotional impact that goes beyond watching a movie about something supernatural. As a rebuttal to my own point, implausible movies can be made fantastic by having realistic human interactions or themes within them, like in the Star Wars franchise. . . but I digress. What I am trying to say is, I think that Lulu Wang will bring something special to the table when it comes to this movie, because it is essentially a snapshot of her life. My hope is that, this movie will feel like peering into someone’s life, as opposed to looking at a screen.
Three. While my own personal experience is not the same as Lulu Wang’s I am very excited to see the dynamic between a family grounded in Asia and the US. While the Asian side of my family has all moved out of China, I was still able to relate to some aspects of the Americanized granddaughter-old Asian grandma dynamic. Beyond that, the overall inclusion of the differences between Asian culture and Western Culture seemed very interesting. There was one instance in the trailer in which one of Awkwafina’s character’s relatives scolds her for being selfish, and that in the East they view a person as a part of a whole, instead of as an individual. This sparked my own internal debate, because there are obvious draws to both. Being an individual means courage, self confidence, and in a way, freedom. Being a part of something greater than oneself allows a sense of community, humbleness, and empathy. I will definitely need to look into that more. Like most issues, I have a feeling the answer will draw a little bit from both sides.
Four. An anecdote. When discussing this film with my family, we came to two conclusions: 1) The grandma looks like and has the exact disposition of my mother’s mother, and 2) My dad’s family(who is white) actually engaged in this shielding the family from death behavior too. For my dad’s family, it was kind of the reverse of the movie, where the sick person and their immediate family would know of the illness, and no one else would. Then, the person would suddenly drop dead, for a reason unbeknownst to the rest of the family, which in a way puts all the burden on the ill person. Thankfully, they don’t do this anymore.
As I have said many times in this article already, I am very excited to see this film. I’ll report back tomorrow after seeing the film.
After the Premiere
There are certain movies I hold on to over time. Films such as Good Will Hunting (1997) are my go-to for realistic dramatic relationships. Films like The Theory of Everything (2014) and La La Land (2016) will always stick out in my mind as having some of the greatest soundtracks ever paired with a movie. Films like Hidden Figures (2016) made me tear up, films like Booksmart (2019) made me laugh endlessly.
Never, have I ever, encountered a film that has perfectly encapsulated all of these themes.
To begin, the music was stunning. A mix of joyous and loud Mandarin songs and light contemporary classical pieces, it was never in-your-face but always felt. The tone of the music would rise and fall with the tone of the movie, and made you feel connected to what was happening on screen. I am tempted to attribute this to Lulu Wang, since she was originally trained as a pianist, but that accolade goes to Alex Weston, who organized all the music.
Secondly, the color grading, transitions, and shots were gorgeous. The best way I can describe it is as a work of art. In one scene, we were whisked from Awkwafina’s character being in a subway, to seeing someone that resembled Nai Nai, all the way to her flying to and landing in China. It was maybe only 20 or 30 seconds, but it perfectly dealt with the time that had elapsed, without leaving the audience clueless as to what had happened.
Next up: this movie is hilarious. As someone with a little old Asian grandma, I can proudly say they did a great job. There were so many moments, like when Nai Nai is urging Billi (Awkwafina) to eat, or is scolding her housemate Mr. Li, in which I saw my own grandma reflected in the film. In addition, the whole cast does a great job, which I found out at the premiere was not what they had had in mind. The actor for Billi’s dad Haiyan (Tzi Ma) remarked in the Q&A afterwards that he was initially very surprised after watching the film for the first time, because he had not thought it would be so funny. He had expected it to be purely a drama, which is also a compliment to Wang’s work, because she was able to use her style to convey these comedic aspects. And, I must add, these comedic aspects are a a great addition to the film. I specifically remember one scene, in which Billi is having a tense exchange with her mom about the whole ordeal of lying to Nai Nai. The tension is palpable, and there is a slight pause, when Billi’s dad, who is drunk, rolls over on the bed the mom is sitting on, and remarks how loud they are being. At this, the whole theater erupted in laughter. Moments like these made you smile when you thought you were just about to cry, and served as reminders forgive, forget, and look at the glass as half full, as opposed to half empty.
As I mentioned above, there were certainly some tense moments that stemmed from the intertwined relationships in the family. We see Billi’s dad Haiyan pick up drinking and smoking again with his brother, as they begin to be more and more troubled by the prospect of their mom dying. We see Billi’s mom Jian arguing for the benefits of America, as she is attacked for having left China. And finally, as I had hoped before the premiere, we see Awkwafina in an amazing dramatic performance. Her character Billi is extremely relatable, and her emotion and wit shine through in every scene. From her heart-felt talks with Nai Nai to her sarcastic quips, she has a wonderful range that really shines through in this film.
While I had predicted Awkwafina’s success as a dramatic actor, I had no idea of what the ending would be. Like most people, I thought the grandma would probably die. And it would be sad, but they would all celebrate her life, and maybe find out in some way that she knew what they were doing all along.
This however, was the complete opposite, because the real Nai Nai is still alive, now over 6 years later. And, as a cherry on top, she still has no idea she was ever sick. Lulu Wang commented in the Q&A that on top of never knowing she was sick, Nai Nai doesn’t even know the content of the film, despite it being shot in her hometown.
While she may not know the content of the film, I am very happy that she knows of her granddaughter’s success. A large plot line through out the film is that Billi’s artistic career seems to be failing; at the beginning of the film she gets rejected from a fellowship at the Guggenheim, and is running low on cash. In one scene at the end of the movie, Billi laments that she feels stuck, and kind of like a failure, to which Nai Nai replies that she has full confidence that Billi will succeed. And so, with Billi representing Lulu, one can imagine that at the same time in her life, Lulu was struggling too. And so it makes me so happy to know that her Nai Nai saw her succeed.
In a word, this film is fantastic, and seeing it premiere is something I don’t think I will ever forget. Being able to hear Lulu Wang, Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, and Aoi Mizuhara speak was a true gift, and incredibly inspiring. As a movie that is 75% in mandarin and is subtitled in English, I know it will break records and barriers when released across America. Most importantly, I hope it will set a precedent to be followed that specific stories about minorities can find creative success, and that they should be encouraged.