Synopsis
The Farewell (2019) is a Chinese-American drama-comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Director Lulu Wang drew from her own family history — the tagline "Based on an actual lie" is completely literal.
Billi grew up in Brooklyn but was raised by her grandmother Nai Nai in China. When Nai Nai receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, the family makes a collective decision: she won't be told. Instead, relatives fly in from across three countries under cover of a hastily arranged wedding. Awkwafina plays Billi stripped of her usual comic shield — confused, furious at her parents, and incapable of faking the small talk. Zhao Shuzhen as Nai Nai is sharp, present and full of life; the cruelty is that the family has decided she doesn't get to know her own ending.
Produced by A24, the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. It asks a question with no clean answer: who owns the truth about someone's death? Stream The Farewell (2019) online on iFILM.
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