The American rapper, comedian, and actor, famous for her roles in Ocean’s 8, Crazy Rich Asians, plays, in The Farewell, 2019, a character that is a departure from her comedic ones. The Farewell still retinas a sense of humour but the humour lies in its sadness—is a place where characters in the film, as well as the narrative itself resorts to in moments of grief—giving audiences a break from the hefty emotional burden.
Character in the movie, a Chinese family from New York, “returns” to Chungchun, China. They are there for a wedding. The wedding is, however, “fake”, an excuse for all of those in the family to see the family’s grandmother one last time, after having been diagnosed with cancer. The grandmother does not know of the seriousness of her illness and the family resorts to not telling her. In “the East”, such a burden should not be bared by oneself, but should be shared with all those in the family. Billie, Awkafina, struggles to oblige with that and the film is her character, often hilariously, trying to come to terms and understand that approach.
The comedy-drama is showing in all cinemas in Toronto.
