The Farewell

When a Chinese grandmother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, her nearest and dearest opt not to tell her, preferring instead to take on the emotional burden themselves and to secretly celebrate her life behind the guise of an impromptu family wedding. But their decision sits uneasily with independently minded granddaughter Billi (Crazy Rich Asians breakout star Awkwafina), a New Yorker who's one of the many far-flung relatives flying in for the occasion. She's not so sure she should perpetuate the family's "good lie". Despite a plot premise rooted in terminal demise, The Farewell's life-before-death drama is leavened with lots of laughs. It's an upbeat, joyous and life-affirming experience that's conveyed via a subtitled global melange of Mandarin, English and some Japanese. So, there are language lessons in among the life ones. Thoroughly entertaining, this is a farewell well worth saying hello to.