By Ali Mendoza
I knew this would be my favorite movie of the year just from watching the TikTok trailer. Didi (弟弟), a coming-of-age film directed by Sean Wang and starring Izaac Wang, depicts Taiwanese thirteen-year-old Chris Wang, nicknamed Didi in his home, as he navigates his formative years from middle school to high school in 2008. In the film, a fictionalized autobiography, Wang returns to the time of his teenage years and delves into Didi’s ever-changing relationship with his mother, older sister, and friends. It shows his various efforts to fit in and seem "cool," capturing the triumphs, downfalls, and all the cringe that come with adolescence within a short ninety-four-minute runtime.
Throughout the film, there’s a big emphasis placed on Didi’s relationship with his mom, Chungsing Wang. Wang manages to depict the gap that exists between Asian immigrant parents and their Asian American children using dialogue, actions, and direction. The dynamic between the two is like the parent-child dynamic seen in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," but Wang manages to capture it unlike any other. In particular, the insults Didi and his mother hurl at each other are delivered beautifully and remind me of myself at that age. The source of conflict between Didi and his mother is not rooted in the fact that Didi is an imperfect student, or that he goes against her rules, it’s the cultural gap; the two can't relate to each other. Raised in Taiwan, Didi’s mom cannot help him because she does not know what Didi is going through as an American child facing American issues. The two radically different places create a genuine gap between a parent who does not know how to show her love and her children.
The film resonated as I saw my relationship with my mother depicted on screen perfectly. As Asian Americans, we often compare the laidback treatment that our white peers receive with the harsh, strict, “tough love” treatment that most Asian parents give to their children. Also, many Asian American parents seem to view their children as trophies, as a vehicle for living a dream they could not achieve.
Another topic of the film is how the early stages of the internet affected the lives of teenagers. A good amount of the dialogue between characters happens in AOL chat rooms. One of Didi’s friendships solely develops through Myspace and AOL, as they rarely talk in person for two-thirds of the movie. In an interview with "Adweek," Wang talks about the inclusion of the internet in his film: “I wanted to revisit this period that I felt hadn’t been captured accurately in movies.”
Despite the actual visuals of the film being mundane, simply showing Didi typing on his computer, the audience feels the stakes and emotionality of each message and action. Every message sent between him and his crush, Madi, feels suspenseful and impactful, yet when you really think about it, he’s just there sitting on his computer.
The desire for romance plays a significant role in Didi’s development as a character. We see the relationship between Didi and his crush, Madi, grow and develop. As viewers, we see the ups and downs of a teenager pining for their crush. From overthinking each message to not knowing what to do or say when you are with them, it’s all depicted with relatability and realism.
In an interview with "TeensInPrint," Wang discusses the reality of events: “Everything started from a real place, but once you start writing and thinking about the themes of the story... and how to make it a narrative... you start drawing things or fictionalizing... it really just ends up becoming its own thing.”
Wang began writing the script when he was twenty-two years old, and it took seven years for him to finish it. When asked about this, he stated that he was trying to not fall into the trap of rushing the movie, “They [my friends] get a feature opportunity, but they didn’t spend any time developing a script... [they] spend 2-3 years making the movie and it just isn’t that good because it’s rushed.”
But what do others think? First premiering in one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, the Sundance Film Festival, the film won the U.S. Dramatic and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Awards. In addition to winning at Sundance, "Didi" was praised far and wide by general critics and audiences, receiving a critic score of 96% and an audience score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
One audience member stated, “[As someone] who grew up a few miles away from where the movie took place, [it was] nice to see a genuine and real depiction of what it was like growing up... every small detail made me remember and cherish those years.”
After talking to my own Asian American friends who have seen the movie, they stated that the movie made them feel seen like no other. While we have many popular coming-of-age films depicting white protagonists, such as "Eighth Grade" and "Lady Bird," Didi is one of the first coming-of-age films to show a person’s formative teenage years from the perspective of an Asian American. With rave reviews from audiences and critics alike, this movie will only continue to push Asian Americans in the film industry further and inspire future Asian American filmmakers to tell their own stories.
Overall, I rate it 5/5 stars.
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