Welcome to another edition of the “The Valero Verdict” movie review. In this I will give you a quick movie review with a couple of bullet points of which I either liked or disliked. I will end the review with rating of the movie and a short overall thoughts.

On the docket today: The Farewell

• Plot: A Chinese family discovers 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.

• Directing/Writing: LuLu Wang
  
  It’s one thing to write a movie that is raw and emotional but it’s another to bring one to the table that is real, telling your story whatever it may be is not easy. This story was not an easy write, I am sure. It’s a touching and heartfelt memoir written to her family. The direction from the first scene to the emotionally charged final scene was well paced, it never once over stayed its welcome.

• Acting: Awkwafina – Shuzhen Zaho
  
  Awkwafina: She was good in this film, borderline great. I didn’t LOVE her in this as much as everyone else has but I will say she was a pleasure to watch. She showed a wide rang of emotions in this film that I liked. She was funny at times but also raw and genuine.
  
  Zaho: First time actress, and she knocked it out of the ballpark. PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE NOMINATE THIS WOMAN FOR AN OSCAR. She deserves it. She was hilarious and just EVERYTHING in this movie.

• Favorite Scene: Honestly, anything that had Zaho in it. She was that good.

• Enjoyment: It was one of those films that you kept your eyes on the screen from start to finish. It was just pure joy to watch it. It’s one of those films that remind’s me why I love cinema so much.

The Verdict

***** out of ***** gavels

Foreign Films aren’t always my cup of tea, sometimes they can be a hard watch for me. The Farewell was the complete opposite. This movie was a true masterpiece from start to finish. I tried for hours if not days to find something I did not like about this film to not give it the perfect score but I couldn’t do it.

Lulu Wang wrote and directed a pure gem, this film is one of the years best and I am so glad I caught this in theaters. The colors in this film were amazing, Anne Solano should already have her flight booked for the Oscars. The score was magnificent (I feel sorry for the Oscars with all the great Scores this year). The movie is a delight breath of fresh air in a world full of lackluster ideas in film.

Should You See It?: Absolutely, this film won’t be for everyone and I know that but film lovers will rejoice over this movie.

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