Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Dìdi Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker November 5, 2024

'Didi', the semi-autobiographical first feature film for director Sean Wang, arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. The film tracks thirteen-year- old Chris, a Taiwanese boy who lives in Fremont, CA with his mother (Joan Chen), grandmother, and older sister, near the end of the summer before he enters high school. It's a different kind of coming-of-age story but it is never less than honest. Special features consist of a short "making-of" feature. Neither a slipcover nor a Digital Code are included.

Chris (who also goes by the nickname "Didi") doesn't quite know where he fits. A brooding thirteen-year-old Taiwanese boy growing up in Fremont, California, he seems to feel the almost crushing weight of the world on his shoulders while he labors to find his place and a group of people with whom he fits. From his perspective, as with many in their early teens, everyone else seems to have it all figured out. Everyone but him. As the film opens, his friend group is engaged in somewhat typical behavior for boys of that age. They love roughhousing that can at times turn more serious and violent, they show a burgeoning interest in the opposite sex, and they seek to impress their peers. There's a certain amount of juvenile fun to be had with them, but they are hardly mature, supportive, or understanding of his needs. With his father endlessly away, working in Taiwan to earn money for the family, Chris and his sister are raised by their mother Chungsing (played by Joan Chen (Lust, Caution; Twin Peaks) in an impressive bit of casting). She struggles to maintain order and control in the house as Chis and his college-bound sister, Vivian (Shirley Chen, Wake Up), continuously argue and fight. Aside from her bickering children, Chungsing faces a constant torrent of criticism from her husband's aging mother who lives with them, and does not hesitate to express her displeasure with virtually everything that happens in the house.

Though the film moves linearly through the end of the summer of 2008 and catalogs pivotal moments from Chris's life during that time, there isn't exactly what most would consider a plot with a defined beginning, middle, and end, with a clearly identifiable conflict, protagonists, antagonists, and a well-crafted and concise resolution at the end the summer. Instead, the film chooses to simply follow Chris for these thirty or so days leading up to high school, concluding once he completes his first day. It's a document of a life, much like any other. There isn't a hero or a villain. It's simply Chris interacting with the people in his world; those that enter it, and those that leave it, as he tries to find his way during an awkward, uncertain, and difficult time.

The emotions the film generates and dwells on as it charts this month in Chris's life and in doing so define who he is as a person, are raw, real, and unfiltered. Chris's status as a lost soul has a dramatically negative impact on his life and his relationships. Chris has a difficult and somewhat mercurial relationship with his sister despite the fact that he clearly loves her. He steals and wears her sweatshirt from UCSD, the college she'll be attending in the fall, despite her confronting him about it and her angry demand that he quit taking her clothes. Even though virtually every conversation the two have devolves into a shouting match, it's his affection for her that drives him to continue that behavior. And the disgusting prank he pulls on her is as much an act of retribution as it is a cry for her time and attention. Counter to all outward appearances, the affection runs both ways, with Vivan assisting her brother on a particularly difficult night. Chris's relationship with his mother is likewise strained. Largely reacting obstinately or argumentatively, he's alternately embarrassed by his mother, oblivious to what she does for him, and resistant to her attempts to help prepare him for a better future.

The film also honestly captures his sometimes unflattering actions as Chris moves from adolescence to young adulthood with those in his social circle. Though he is attracted to his classmate Madi, he doesn't quite know how to proceed. Displaying a decided lack of self-confidence he creates a false image of himself to curry her attention and favor, stealing and wearing his sister's Paramore t-shirt, and mining details from her online profile to pepper into his messages to and conversations with her though he clearly has no knowledge of anything to which he's referring when he does so. Not finding value in who he is, he believes deception is his only path forward. His willingness and perceived need to deceive is not limited to Madi and impacts other new connections as well. He alters his personal story and history, and over-inflates his camera skills in the hopes of cementing new friendships rather than simply being who he is and allowing things to develop organically.

Chris, in somewhat typical pre-teen/teen male fashion, Chris is not overly communicative. Long stretches of time elapse where a silent Chris emotes his discomfort, uncertainty, wants, and hopes, with mere looks and how he chooses to carry himself. Except for a few outbursts, one relatively short, and one that is much longer and far more agonizing, Chris never really addresses or conveys his feelings and emotions. Rather than relying on an interior monolog or forcing unnatural conversations, the film cleverly uses the technology of the era to provide a window into Chris's mind and heart. Allowing us to be voyeurs in private moments with him alone in his room as haunts Myspace and YouTube. This device better allows the viewer to organically learn of the anguish, attraction, and uncertainty he feels in his relationship with Madi and his desire and efforts to impress his new friends. We watch him type and delete messages, scroll through posts from people he knows, and observe the cursor flit between and hover over his options as he weighs his decisions. Without him ever saying a word we know exactly what he's thinking and how he's feeling.

All of this transpires without either flinching or judgment. Much of what Chris does would either be embarrassing in the moment or regrettable in hindsight, but it unspools organically before the viewer without a feeling of revision or censoring. It's these moments that also supply the viewer with the most important opportunities to connect with Chris as they can quickly reflect on moments from their own youth when they failed to be "cool" with friends or peers they were trying to impress or were hopelessly emotionally unprepared and out of their depth when trying to begin a relationship with a crush. But as is so often the case, his most hurtful and unfortunate words and actions are reserved for his family, the people who know and love him best, and they are also perfectly relatable. Through it all, the viewer can chart his growth or regression, experiencing joy at his small wins and pain at his setbacks. Those looking for a decisive resolution to his conflicts and issues will find the film's end frustrating. The film is merely a snapshot of Chris's life that simply draws to a close with where he is on that journey at that particular moment in time. Is he a good brother, son, or friend? Can he learn and be better? Will he continue to make the same mistakes? As with life, there are clues to what tomorrow may bring, some which are perhaps a step forward, others sideways, and others perhaps a step back. None of it is set in stone. And it's as messy and real as it sounds.

While much of the film focuses on Chris's thoughts and actions, Joan Chen is also given numerous opportunities to demonstrate her own hopes, joys, frustrations, and regrets. As can be the case with stay-at-home parents, hers is a life largely of dreams deferred which is visited occasionally by thoughts of what things may have been like if certain choices were made differently. Her situation is further complicated by having her husband's aging mother live with the family in Fremont. Although she doesn't require much care, her presence and words visibly exact a toll on Chungsing. Without her husband physically present to support her, one would hope the mother-in-law would fulfill that role. Instead her constant undermining places Chungsing in an untenable and lamentable position, trapped between two generations who drain all of her attention and energy but for whom nothing she does is ever remotely good enough. With every conversation, every car ride, and every family dinner, Chen artfully demonstrates the mounting pressure. In spite of it all, her pride in and love for her family never flags, and her arc has a definite impact on Chris's.

Dìdi Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Did was shot digitally by cinematographer Sam A. Davis using an ARRI Alexa 35 Camera in a handheld almost documentary style that favors close-ups instead of larger or longer carefully composed shots. The result is a film that feels very intimate, almost private, with the audience as the ultimate voyeur, able to invade and observe numerous small moments often at extremely close proximity without detection. The camera rarely rests, sometimes moving quickly, other times slowly, but its near-constant motion creates a feeling of nervous and ill-at-ease energy that, to some extent, mirrors how Chris feels for much of the film. Optically, the film has a light grain structure that provides it a filmic appearance. Many of the film's interiors seem to be shot using only the available ambient light or is, at the very least, light so unobtrusively and minimalistically so as to maintain that aesthetic. Skin tones look natural and healthy throughout. Fine detail, such as blemishes on Chris's skin, stubble on the faces of some of his youthful peers, and textures of fabrics are all discernable. Again, as many of the interior shots are rather dim if not dark, normal environmental particulars are often unavailable, But in Chris's room when it is brightly lit by sunlight, the various nicknacks and posters that adorn his space are open for inspection, as are the individual brushstrokes in Joan Chen's paintings. There are occasional and purposeful drops in video quality as the film switches to footage Chris shoots with his handheld camcorder. Here, realistically, the camera moves extremely rapidly as the young man runs with the camera or struggles to capture friends on speeding skateboards. On the whole, the image is free from damage or defect, and based on the choices made, looks as the filmmakers intended, and it suits the film well.

Dìdi Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Didi has a very solid English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that isn't going to tax even smaller set-ups, but it handles the summer's events depicted here well. Music offers the greatest opportunity to appreciate what the track is capable of. In a few choice moments where music becomes the focus, fidelity is sharp and crisp, and surrounds are utilized to great effect. Here bass is sufficient to support the tracks' low end. An intimate story that is dialogue-driven, however, Didi is not here to impress sonically, merely to accurately capture the words said by Didi, his friends, and his family, and the track does that well. Dialogue is cleanly reproduced and is front and center focused. It's properly prioritized and is never overpowered even when music swells. There are times when those in Chris's proximity do not speak English and here yellow subtitles appear in the center toward the bottom of the image. Sound effects are largely limited to sounds associated with skateboarding, and those are sometimes given a chance to move through the sound field, and they do so fluidly in those instances. As the small explosion at the start of the film is shot with Chris's camcorder, the sound quality is appropriately thin. But again, given the film's domestic focus, such sounds are atypical, and instead, sounds like car doors close with appropriate depth, and doors in the house slam with excellent realism. It's a solid track.

Dìdi Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The sole on-disc extra included is a feature called The Making of 'Didi' which runs just over thirteen minutes in length. Director Sean Wang, on his first full-length feature film, is seen with members of the cast, crew, and his family as he captures key moments from the entire duration of the film's shooting schedule. It's brisk and largely high-energy, but due to its pace and relatively short length, the piece is not able to go into great detail. Still, it's an entertaining peek behind the scenes.

Dìdi Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Capturing Chris as he transitions from middle school to high school and from adolescence into young adulthood, Didi weaves a different type of coming-of-age story. It's a film that delivers an emotional stew every bit as complicated as real life and one that doesn't offer any customary or traditional resolution. Izaac Wang excels in his portrayal of Chris, crafting a raw depiction of a young man that is never less than authentic. Featuring the wonderful Joan Chen in a supporting role, it's one of her best performances to date. For her fans and those who enjoy complex, very human stories, Sean Wang's Didi comes highly recommended.