POSITIVES…
From an Asian-American perspective, this film has a very fascinating and thought-provoking dramatic premise.
Amazing ensemble cast of actors here, with stand-out performances by Shuzhen Zhao as Nai Nai, Awkwafina as Billi, Tzi Ma as Haiyan, and Diana Lin as Jian.
With the character of Billi, it helps that she was the character surrogate of this story, because Awkwafina was really good at conveying the emotions that we should be feeling when watching this movie.
I gotta give another shout out to Shuzhen Zhao as Nai Nai, who does a great job playing that “says whatever she wants to say” Grandma, that you might easily find to be very adorable and affectionate.
Considering the strong premise, this film gets away with telling a rather straightforward simple story, that doesn’t have too much excitement.
Underneath the simple story however, lies complicated thematic themes that are mostly just hinted at through certain dialogue, subtle visuals, or specific scenes. The social cultural commentaries aren’t just what Billi says here, it’s all throughout the movie.
Some of the more powerful moments of the movie are certain conversations that are made by certain characters, and some of them are simple scenes that look innocuous enough.
It manage to have me bawling like a baby by the end of the movie. Oh, and there’s that final shot that we see right before the credits too!
NEGATIVES…
Some might criticize this movie for being told through the perspective of an Asian-American, and not a purely Chinese point of view.
The USA vs China parts might rub people the wrong way.
It can drag a bit at some parts of the film. A little bit more editing perhaps?
P.S….
LOVED IT enjoyeditlikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible
