In the East, it even runs as deep as not telling a loved one the extent of their illness or showing grief at all. In Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, she uses her real life experiences to help develop the story for the big screen. She even uses her casting choices to challenge perceptions.

Playing against type, Awkwafina steps away from her comic roles to deliver a very serious interpretation of a woman not allowed to feel grief by her cultural restrictions. Although Chinese born, she was raised in America and sits uncomfortable between the divide.

In an effort to influence the audience’s perceptions, Wang’s restricts the colour palette to almost all drab colours and lets the actors only show emotions on the fringes. Even the ever colourful Awkwafina is reduced to a mostly dour presence. It’s in these severe circumstances that the idea on grief as a caustic element is revealed.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/roadshow

To assure her happiness, they gather under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, uniting family members scattered among new homes abroad. 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.

With The Farewell, writer/director Lulu Wang has created a heartfelt celebration of both the way we perform family and the way we live it, masterfully interweaving a gently humorous depiction of the good lie in action with a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us, often in spite of ourselves.

The Farewell stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong and Jiang Yongbo, and will be released in Australian cinemas September 5!
www.facebook.com/roadshow