The Farewell

2019 • 99 minutes

About this movie

In this funny, uplifting tale based on an actual lie, Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch, Nai-Nai, has been given mere weeks to live, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate: a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother’s wondrous spirit, and the ties that keep on binding even when so much goes unspoken.

Ratings and reviews

Don't spend money on this movie. It is the worst movie I have seen in a long time. It is not funny, nor uplifting. In fact, it is sad, depressing and boring. You have been warned!

Trash. And sad to boot. The central character (the granddaughter not the dying grandma) is spoilt and self-centred AF. If you are too, you'll enjoy the navel-gazing virtue-signalling this movie facilitates. If you aren't, skip it.

A truly rare find, worth sitting down and giving full attention to. Raw and honest, the film pulls into the spotlight the forgotten value of family. In the tension of Western and Eastern values during a life changing moment, we get to view things from a new perspective. I haven't seen a movie like this in a long, long time.