Dìdi (弟弟)

This is my Eighth Grade, my Mid90s, my Lady Bird. Sold me when Belle & Sebastian started playing over the opening credits and by the time Joan Chen popped up I was gonna buy the entire stock. Growing up with a different culture alongside the one you’re raised in is one hell of a trip, and here Sean Wang captures it with such ease, and every few minutes or so I was caught off guard by something that I’ve experienced or something so relatable that I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that I was seeing it on a large screen, a story that I don’t think I could’ve imagined seeing 5 years ago. From the bickering siblings and the Asian parenting (primarily nagging and criticizing in a “loving” way) to the cringe chat etiquette and entirely dumb adolescent behavior, I can’t think of anything else that I’ve looked at and said: “Wow, this was basically me.” There’s a moment that hit me hard towards the latter half that hit me like a truck, after of course getting sideswiped by little bits of minor (but humorous) trauma, and my eyes started swelling up after thinking about my own parents and their own aspirations, torn apart by the environment they grew up in before they came to America, before they had me. To see a supportive Asian parent in a film this good fills me with the most immense joy, because I’ve been blessed with parents that check that box off, a rarity in most Asian cultures.  It’s wild to think how three years in a row I’ve been entirely sucked in by something made by Asian Americans who just GET it: EEAAO in 2022, BEEF in 2023, and now Dìdi in 2024. I can’t wait to see what’s next, for both Sean Wang and this community. Movie of the year for me so far, and it’s gonna be hard to top.