‘The Farewell' Is 2019's First Serious Oscar Contender

An interview I did with director Lulu Wang is forthcoming. She directed the Sundance sensation “The Farewell” which I gave an all-too-rare A- grade in my review. It could very well make my top ten list by year’s end.

Now more than seven days since its release, “The Farewell” has justifiably been celebrated by both critics and audiences alike (100% on RT and 90 on MC) . Now that this indie gem is in theaters, I feel like its limitless momentum will only increase as the year rolls around (its early box-office is hinting at a major indie hit). It’s been a very weak year. I’ve been to Sundance, SXSW and Cannes — not to mention have caught up with many of the big titles from Berlin — and there hasn’t been much to celebrate when it comes to American cinema. A few notable exceptions would be Quentin Tarantino’s late-career opus “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,” Julius Onah’s “Luce” and, of coure, Wang’s film.

Despite the unequivocal success of last year’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” and 1993’s surprise hit “The Joy Luck Club,” outside these outliers, Asian-American stories have lacked tangible representation on screen for decades, let alone any acknowledgement from the Oscars.

And so, let us be thankful that an immaculately impressive film like “The Farewell” does exist. The film tackles its themes of love, loss, and family with such touching and universal profundity. Of course, to just celebrate this film as being “inclusive” or “socially important” would do it a disservice because, you see, “The Farewell” is a movie that feels so humane that it encompasses a kind of universality to its emotions that really anyone of any race and of any religion can relate to.

With its simple, thoughtful storytelling, “The Farewell” can be a deeply personal movie for anyone. Wang understands that universal themes bind countries and cultures as vast and different as America and China in their shared values, humanity and love for family and friends. It’s also not hard to relate to the film’s depiction of the concerns for and fears of losing a loved one. We’ve all been there. It’s a taboo subject matter that is rarely tackled in popular culture because, well, it’s just so depressing. But Wang finds an indelible balance between heartbreak and humor in “The Farewell,” it really is something to behold.

***Oscar stat: Since the ten-nominee Best Picture rule was instilled back in 2009 there has only been one year in which a Best Picture lineup did not have at least one Summer release.***