Chinese audiences don't think it should be.

[Randy W]

from Goldthread

 

‘The Farewell’ is up for best ‘foreign’ film. Chinese audiences don’t think it should be.

Frankie Huang

DEC 30, 2019

The critically acclaimed film is competing in the Golden Globes under the foreign-language film category, but in China, the film is seen as a distinctly American story. The discrepancy highlights the challenge of appealing to audiences on both sides of the world.

 

Awkwafina stars in “The Farewell” as Billi.

 

Critics of the decision pointed out that while the film is mostly set in China and the characters mostly speak in Chinese, the plot—centered on an immigrant family—is an ostensibly American story.

Ironically, many viewers in China saw director Lulu Wang’s vision of the country as inauthentic, calling it a foreigner’s perspective feigning to be Chinese.

The discrepancy highlights the unique challenge that The Farewell faces in satisfying three distinct audience groups: Asian-American, Chinese, and mainstream American.

 

 

. . .

Set mostly in northeastern China, the film tells the story of a family’s concerted effort to come together and say goodbye to the family matriarch without disclosing to her that she is dying of terminal cancer—all under the guise of a hasty wedding for her grandson.

The critically acclaimed film depicts lives and relationships that span continents, cultures, and languages in such a way that defies traditional geographic categorizations of film—and it seems to be suffering the same identity crisis as its Chinese-American protagonist Billi.

 

[Randy W]

from the NY Times

 

Awkwafina Becomes First Asian-American to Win Best Actress at Golden Globes

Awkwafina’s award for her role in “The Farewell” was the film’s only win of the night.

 

Awkwafina making Globes history with her prize.Credit...Paul Drinkwater/NBC

 

Her award was the only win of the night for the movie, in which Awkwafina plays a Chinese-American immigrant struggling with her cultural identity while trying to shield her grandmother (Zhao Shuzhen) from a grim diagnosis.

“The Farewell” was also nominated for best foreign film, which went to “Parasite.”

“If I fall upon hard times, we can sell this,” Awkwafina said in her speech, hoisting her trophy in the air. “So that’s good.”

 

 

[Randy W]

on Twitter

 

 

"I think it was because our names are very similar, but it's good to have water."

@Awkwafina

scores free water from

@Aquafina

Awkwafina Scores Free Water — From Aquafina
Sources have spotted cases of the popular brand outside her apartment: "I think it was because our names are very similar," she says.

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)