Movie Poster

It's not the cancer that kills them. It's the fear.

# Review

This movie is about a matriarch of a Chinese family being diagnosed with terminal cancer; the family, instead of telling her, decides that she will live longer if she does not know and stages a ruse in the form of a wedding for all family members to say goodbye to her. The story follows Billi (played by Awkwafina) who grew up in the US and is struggling to come to terms with the deception.

To be honest I'm not familiar with the tradition of keeping medical diagnosis away from the terminally ill, but according to my mother, it's a real tradition in China.

The acting is spectacular in this film, it's awkward and uncomfortable, just as the situation in the film should be. The cinetography and the settings paint a very accurate picture of what China actually looks like.

Although I'm not from a completely similar cultural background as Billi (as I spent the earliest years of my childhood in China), her interactions with her relatives and her status within the family are both very relatable. I have some of the exact conversations with my relatives when we speak.

While not political, this film walks a fine line in portraying both Eastern and Western values authentically; I really enjoyed watching the film contrast the two cultures, as I'm empathetic to both.

I'm still a bit conflicted over whether it was morally right to keep the diagnosis away from the grandmother; while the decision allowed the family to shoulder the burden instead of the grandmother, which arguably helps her, I'm not too sure if it's the right decision. I can't help but contrast this movie to Principles (which I've recently read) where Ray Dalio was diagnosed with a terminal esophagus condition but he accepted the reality and did not hide it from people he cares about.

I think the correct decision is probably situational (whether the diagnosis can be medically treated or not) and people (whether the person being diagnosed can mentally recover from the diagnosis) dependent, but I think the truth can and often will come to light, so it's probably better to face reality together in order to determine the best course of action.

# Conclusion

A lovingly made film which contrasts Eastern and Western values.

# Overall rating: 7.9

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