7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A Chinese family discover their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies.
Starring: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Shuzhen Zhao, Hong LuDrama | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One of the questionable side benefits of taking a long flight is the chance to explore the media offerings the airline offers to help pass the time, but one of the downsides to me having spent much of my adult life writing about films and television is that I recently found on a trans-Atlantic (and then trans-continental) flight of over ten hours, that I had already seen the vast majority of the available films, and among those that were left were relatively few that really sparked any interest at the time. One notable exception to that disappointment I experienced was Coco, the sweet Disney Pixar animated offering I had missed in its theatrical exhibition and subsequent home media releases, and a film which prominently features the relationship between a grandmother and grandchild, along with a rather touching depiction (however “tweaked” for entertainment purposes) of a large Mexican family, all within the context of what might be generally termed mortality. Coco perhaps rather weirdly bears at least some resemblances to the equally touching The Farewell, a (live action) film which posits the relationship between an elderly Chinese grandmother affectionally known as Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) and her granddaughter Billi (Awkwafina), who has lived in the United States since she was a little girl. The film’s main conceit is that Nai Nai has been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, and has therefore been given just a few weeks to live (if even that). In a rather interesting piece of “cultural trivia”, it turns out that it’s quite common in China (at least according to this film, as well as some anecdotes shared in some of the supplements on this disc) to not tell those suffering from cancer that they are in the throes of a fatal disease and will be perishing soon. Instead, Billi’s family decides to hurry along a wedding involving Billi’s cousin Hao Hao (Chen Han), Nai Nai’s only other grandchild, as an excuse to have a family reunion in China, so that everyone can have one last visit with Nai Nai, though obviously Nai Nai will remain unaware of the real reason behind the gathering.
The Farewell is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. Shot with Arri Alexas and presumably finished at a 2K DI, The Farewell looks generally very well detailed in high definition, though as can perhaps be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, there's a kind of odd, slightly gray-brownish quality to quite a bit of the imagery which may tend to defeat fine detail at times. The film doesn't offer tons of traditional visual "pop", but the palette looks nicely saturated and accurate. In better lighting conditions, fine detail is generally very good, especially with regard to some of the incidental elements like upholstery or even wallpaper (see screenshot 1). There are a few passing deficits in shadow detail, including in an early scene in Billi's apartment, and later in a brief moment where she first gets to the hotel where she's staying.
The Farewell features a well rendered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that derives a lot of its surround activity from ambient environmental effects, both outside in some bustling urban environments, but even in Nai Nai's flat, which is of course full of family members, many of whom tend to talk over each other in a Howard Hawksian kind of way. There are a couple of fun musical moments that also sound fine. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
Coco was a very welcome relief on my above mentioned way too long flight, and it touched me immensely. Though some of the details are obviously quite different in The Farewell, there's a similar underlying "truth" to its depiction of family, and especially what happens when a family is confronted with a supposedly imminent death of one member. Wang is a talent to watch, and she has crafted a really beautifully heartfelt film. Technical merits are solid, and The Farewell comes Highly recommended.
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