Would you tell your grandmother the diagnosis if she had a cancer? 

This is the puzzle that character Billi faces in the Chinese-American family drama "The Farewell," which explores the complexities of family and death.

This low-budget film was released in the U.S. on July 12, and made 355,662 dollars in four theaters for an average of 88,916 dollars per venue in its opening weekend; making it the best average of 2019 so far, besting "Avengers: Endgame" and other blockbusters. 

A semi-autobiographical drama

"The Farewell" is based on director Lulu Wang's real-life story. The leading role Billi is modeled after Wang who was born in Beijing and immigrated to Florida when she was six. Her Chinese name is Wang Ziyi. 

The film tells the story of a Chinese immigrant family in New York, Billi and her parents, and the way they react to the fact that their grandmother has terminal lung cancer. 

The varying reactions also reflect the way traditional Chinese culture has adapted and intermingled with American culture. Billi's family decides to keep the information from her grandmother, and schedules an impromptu wedding-reunion before she dies. Billi's mom explained, "When people get cancer, they die." "But it's not the cancer that kills them, it's the fear," which Billi disagrees with. 

As the story goes on, the cultural conflict between Billi and her family continues to escalate. Billi thinks grandma should have the right to know about her own health condition, while Billi's parents and other relatives in the family believe that grandma would be happier if she didn't know about the cancer. The film wraps the culture-clash between east and west values into a bittersweet family drama. 

This is director Wang's second feature film. Her first, "Posthumous" in 2014, tells the story of a struggling artist who finds himself accidentally reported dead. 

Unexpected attention

The film received unexpected attention and good reviews after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The New York Times, the Guardian, Variety, Rolling Stone and other publications listed it as a standout at the festival.  

"The Farewell" holds a 99 percent Consensus rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 291 reviews so far, and has won awards at Atlanta Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. Lulu Wang was named as one of 10 "Directors to Watch" by Variety in 2019. 

In real life, Wang's grandma was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2013, and she is still alive, six years after her diagnosis.

(Cover image by Jia Jieqiong)