What follows is a series of hackneyed scenes about the different interpersonal relationships within the family, centering on the heroine's bond with her grandmother.

| Dec 17, 2019

Thematically, The Farewell is about reconciliation with the past and wrestling with cultural traditions that now seem foreign in a country that once was home. But it's also simply about grappling with loss...

| Dec 17, 2019

The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, it's one of the best films of the year.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Oct 10, 2019

Magnificent screen presence. I thought it was really lovely. I thought it was really funny. I thought it was really moving. You will laugh, you will cry.

| Sep 23, 2019

Ultimately, it's all about balance, a yin and yang of roots and identities, humour and pathos that comes together into a satisfying, bittersweet wedding banquet of a movie.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 21, 2019

You'll be spewing with tears before the first act is done.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 20, 2019

A lovely, warm family picture featuring a star-making turn from Awkwafina.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 20, 2019

Wang's family story is modestly affecting and deserves an audience, but if it does prompt thoughts about weighing up the importance of emotional truth, they mainly come afterwards.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 19, 2019

There are no grand declarations or tear-stained confrontations, as it's not Downton, mercifully. And if you think grandma knows the truth and is fooling everybody else, you will need to think again, as it's just not clichéd in this way.

| Sep 19, 2019

Panic and self-doubt are at the heart of [the] movie...

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 18, 2019

The film could have had wit, attitude, poignancy, style - or any single one of the four. Instead it slithers along, shallow and soapy.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2019

Immigrant in-jokes abound but this isn't a niche film, it's a crowd-pleaser that's been a box-office hit in the US. Not every scene works but it's an enjoyable watch and Awkwafina is a revelation in a central role.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2019

Goes softly-softly on the Big Themes, but packs an emotional wallop.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2019

Both a vehicle for Awkwafina's formidable talents and an incredibly charming ensemble piece. If there's any justice, it'll be remembered when it comes to award-scattering season.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 16, 2019

This is an intricately constructed, deeply personal and surprisingly funny story - one of the real highlights of 2019 in cinema

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 10, 2019

There's plenty of humour, especially in the lengthy wedding sequence with its speeches and songs; but the film's main strength lies in its sympathetic examination of the differences between the Chinese who have never left China and their cousins...

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 6, 2019

Immigrants, for whom such experiences often overlap in intimate ways, can tell some of the most compelling stories about the human condition and the dislocating shocks of modernity.

| Sep 5, 2019

Launches no thunderbolts, no dazzling revelations. The film is too gentle for that, with too much affection for its characters.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 4, 2019

A charming portrait of a family struggle. Beautiful performances and an unexpected--and very welcome--ending.

| Original Score: A- | Aug 9, 2019

Awkwafina finds her footing as a first-time leading lady, excelling with her emotionally nuanced and vibrant performance in a story about familial love and the gray area one cultivates from straddling different homelands.

| Jul 29, 2019