The Farewell                                      4 ½ stars

The Farewell follows a Chinese family who discover that their beloved grandmother is dying and must keep the secret from her while bringing the family together to see her one last time.  At the beginning we are told the story is based on an actual lie, then see a scene where Billi (Awkwafina) who lives in New York gets a call from her grandmother in China.  Both individuals tell lies about what they are doing at that moment thus setting the premise for the story.  This is a mostly serious family film that demonstrates the difference in culture between the east and west.  But it also shows the universal importance of family relationships whatever culture you are from.  Part of the story involves a fabricated wedding involving one of the grandchildren as the excuse to bring the family together, but there is little detail about this event was planned.  Instead the story focuses on the relationships within the family including the difficulty that Billi had as a child adjusting to living in America with only her parents, having left the rest of the family behind in China.  The hurt of separation follows these characters throughout their lives.  I thought it to be one of the best family dramas in years.  The movie played at Sundance and was very well received.  The film is said to be semi-autobiographical by the writer-director Lulu Wang.  I don’t know how much of it is true but it certainly a beautiful story and one of the best films of the year.