Tzi Ma – Tripping Through Gateways

The Farewell is the story of Billi, whose parents moved to the United States from China when she was young. While she has remained in contact with the family, she is feeling disconnected to them.

When she discovers that her Grandmother has cancer and that her parents kept it from her and were not bringing her on a trip to visit her Nai Nai, she is heartbroken. It does look cold, but the truth is, nobody has informed her Grandmother of her illness and they feel that Billi could not hide this. But Billi decides to to make the trip anyways and surprise her family.

As her uncle explains, they are keeping her condition from Nai Nai to carry the burden for her. In a heartbreaking moment, he suggests that Billi wants to tell Nai Nai the truth because it will make things easier for Billi.

The film really captures the entire family struggle, as Billi is less alone than she realizes. Her father and mother, her uncle, her cousin…all are struggling with the reality and putting on the brave faces for Nai Nai.

But the Farewell is not all sadness. In fact, it is also sweet and funny. Lulu Wang is exploring grief, but also what it means to be a part of a family. Honestly, it is a beautiful film and worth watching.

Also, not nominating Awkwafina for an acting Oscar is a crime.

I gotta say…if you were going to make a western about young Bill Munny, Scott Eastwood would be the guy you would hire to play him.

Jackson is a veteran of the Civil War whose young wife is kidnapped by Mexicans (the film is intentionally vague on this…other than they are Mexican). He sets out to find her. Along the journey he crosses paths with the cruel Ezra. Ezra keeps showing up at the worst times, leaving a path of bodies.

Diablo takes what could be an impediment, Scott Eastwood looks remarkably like his father Clint, and uses it to it’s advantage. The audience fills in the rather loose sketch of a character with what we expect from his father’s westerns. Jackson is a loose sketch of a character until about the last half hour of the film.

Eastwood does not quite have his father’s charisma (at least not yet), and so it benefits him that the film allows the viewer to fill in the blanks. Walton Goggins plays the mysterious Ezra with a real undercurrent of menace. Why is he following Jackson? Why is he so quick to kill with no remorse?

There is a moment late in the film that saves it from being a generic imitation of old Clint Eastwood films. Diablo is not perfect, but it is a decent western that seeks to subvert the expectations they audience brings with them.

Tag: Tzi Ma

Losing Together (The Farewell, 2019)

Beat the Devil (Diablo, 2015)