Dìdi - 弟弟

Dìdi (弟弟) is 2024 film. The movie stars Izaac Wang. The supporting cast include Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Mahaela Park. The movie was the full movie directorial debut of Sean Wang. I caught it with my family at a local AMC.

Izaac Wang plays Chris Wang, whom his friends refer to as Wang Wang. In the last days of summer before he starts his high school life, we see a slice of life for a couple of weeks. Chris lives in Fremont with his Nie Nie, paternal grandmother, mother, and older sister Vivian. Vivian is starting UCSD a week before Chris starts high school. UCSD will take Vivian away from the family. Chris has friends from his junior high days that he hangs out with on a almost daily basis. Chris than is attracted to Madie at a party. Chris and Madie become friendly. However, Chris has a falling out with both his old buddies and Madie. Meeting some skaters at a strip mall, he gets in with them for a few days as their filmer. At home, things come and go with struggle. Chris struggles with communication with his family members. How will Chris navigate his life?

I initially did not want to watch a movie about a kid whom makes bad decisions. But my family was so I gave in and went along. It was 50/50 to my expectations, and the 50 that was not was the details. The trailer presents his bad decisions and the movie only expands on it. However, how he makes them and consequences were not to my expectations. Sean Wang may have been telling his bio here. But embellished for the movies.

What I appreciate about the movie is a all to common kids hearing Chinese at home but responding in English back. How much of the Chinese are they really understanding? How much communication is lost because of this. I also appreciated that this was a movie I felt very familiar with due to the family dynamics. What I appreciated the most was that this was not another discovering my Asian identity movie. It was just a movie about a kid living his life that happened to be Taiwanese and his household's adults spoke Mandarin. It was just about life, not about identity.

Update Sept 3rd:

Took our 弟弟 to watch Didi.

Congratulations to the whole team - @swangsean @IzaacWang @ShirleyLChen and the entire @didithemovie team for such a fun time at the movie theaters. My brothers and I talked all the way home about how we could relate to so many parts of the movie -… pic.twitter.com/TYX4zcbd0f

— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) September 4, 2024

Saving Face - 面子

Saving Face (面子) is a 2004 film starring Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, and Lynn Chen directed by Alice Wu.

The film's main premise is that Michelle is lesbian and is trying to figure out how to come out in an Chinese-Taiwanese culture that she's in.

This is a coming of age story for Michelle's character, Wil. There are a few back stories and the whole "Face" that I might have been a little influenced by when I was living with my parents.

Support the Asian American films that come out and rent this on Netflix.

Lust, Caution - 色, 戒

Lust, Caution (色, 戒) is a 2007 film by Ang Lee (李安). Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen and Lee-Hom Wang.

The movie is based in both Hong Kong and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of China during World World II. The main plot point is that Tony Leung's character is targeted, considered a traitor to the Chinese for working for the Japanese. Leung's character tortures Chinese to help the Japanese. Wei Tang is sent in as a spy to find a way to assassinate Leung. A thriller, coming of age, and drama all rolled into one.

The emotional roller-coaster that Ang Lee puts you on is amazing. I was being pulled in all directions regarding many of the characters. Ang Lee once again shows you that you may not really understand the life his characters choose, but you end up pulling for them.

Honorable mention goes to Joan Chen for still holding it up after all these years. It was nice to see some Shanghainese (上海話). When I was around my grandparents more regularly in my elementary school days, I actually knew a hundred phrases or so. I couldn't tell if Joan Chen and Wei Tang's dialect was authentic though. But it was cool, nonetheless.

Watch and watch it again. Be aware as the reports of the heightened sexuality is not exaggerated. But you could argue that it was necessary for the purpose of the story.