The 2019 Sundance Film Festival’s Best Movies and Performances, from Pete Davidson to Ocasio-Cortez
BEST FILM
The Farewell
During the last few minutes of The Farewell, an involuntary noise escaped from my body, like a goat bleating, or a small car honking. It was an intense, visceral emotional reaction to the climax of writer-director Lulu Wang’s Sundance debut, as deeply felt a family drama as I’ve ever seen. Based on her own experience, she tells the story of a Chinese-American family that returns to China on the occasion of the matriarch’s terminal illness. The catch: Following tradition, they’re not going to tell her she’s dying. The film stars Awkwafina in a revelatory dramatic performance as the conflicted granddaughter, and is centered on the tensions between identity, home, place, heritage, and guilt that all families face. That The Farewell kindles such explosive emotion is rooted in its authenticity. This is a deeply personal, specific story of a Chinese family, but its themes are unshakably universal. The word “gem” is thrown around a lot with indie films, but few are as polished as this one. – Kevin Fallon