By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Sean Wang
Starring: Izaac Wang | Joan Chen | Mahaela Park | Shirley Chen | Zhang Li Hua
Year: 2024
Running time: 94
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30319503/reference/
Val says: “Having read or seen nothing about the film or its director before watching it at IFFBoston, Sean Wang’s sharing of a last name with his main character and Didi’s interest in film makes me wonder how much of the story is autobiographical. The script feels so honest. The nuance of a teen boy’s inner experience as told through online interactions and teeth-clenchingly awkward private moments was masterfully done. Rarely have I left a film with such an intimate understanding of a sad, lonely teenage boy.
“A ‘summer-before-highschool’ story, Wang brings us right into Didi’s inner world, his friendships, his angst, and his fear of never being fully understood or accepted. Rather than giving us an event-driven plot or a coming-of-age adventure for his protagonist though, Wang offers us a nostalgic point in time; a context for Didi to flounder or thrive within. At every step of the way, as he tries to adapt and fit into the hopes and expectations of those he’s desperate to be like, the audience is screaming in response to his every keystroke, white lie, and social faux-pas. But the story carries more than the awkwardness and angst of a teenage boy, it is about an immigrant family, lending layers and nuance to Didi’s plight of fitting in. He’s constantly reminded by his classmates and friends, who themselves exist in a context where their own non-whiteness has had its toll on their lived experience, that he is ‘other.’ His absent father, fraught relationship with his mother and sister, and attempts at finding his tribe are so well portrayed through the range of Izaac Wang’s performance that it becomes impossible for the audience not to understand his plight in some deep way.
“Joan Chen’s heart-wrenching performance as Didi’s put-upon mother deserves a huge shout out, as she is trying to stay afloat while single parenting two struggling children, attempting to live out some semblance of her dream of being a painter, and existing under the hovering presence of a disapproving mother-in-law (a hilarious Chang Li Hua). I loved the family dynamics in the film, and was touched by Didi’s journey into a bit of self-acceptance. 4.5 cats”
Diane says: “DIDI, by director Sean Wang, hits most of the usual beats for a film about a teen who’s having trouble finding his peeps. Lying to hide their shame, trying on different identities, anxiety about romantic relationships…