Chinese-born, US-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to China 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. To assure her happiness, they gather under the guise of an expedited wedding. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate.
With The Farewell, writer/director Lulu Wang has created a celebration of family, masterfully interweaving a gently humorous depiction of the good lie in action with a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen.
