Dìdi

Greetings again from the darkness. 'Coming of Age' films typically lean heavily into either comedy or tragedy. In his first feature film, writer-director Sean Wang (Oscar nominated for his documentary short NAI NAI & WAI PO, 2023) takes a different approach. While he certainly injects some humor, it's isolation and awkwardness - that feeling of not fitting in - that takes center stage. It's quite possible, even likely, that some of this is autobiographical for director Wang. That's a safe statement since most every teenager can relate to bits of this story.

Chris Wang (played by Izaac Wang) is introduced to us as he's blowing up a neighbor's mailbox. We don't get the full story until later, but it doesn't take long for us to figure out that this kid is trying (too) hard to fit in with his group of buddies, as they each transition from junior high to high school. It's the summer of 2008, and Chris lives with his mother, grandmother, and sister ... and he's miserable and lost.

Mom (a terrific Joan Chen, LUST CAUTION, 2007) is a talented artist, beaten down by the demands of being a single mom to two constantly bickering kids, and a demanding mother-in-law for whom nothing is ever good enough. Nai Nai (Chang Li Hua) is played by director Wang's real-life grandmother, and though her health is slowly fading, she doesn't understand the social or family dynamics of the era. Vivian (Shirley Chen) is the sister/daughter who will be leaving home for college in one month. She is constantly annoyed by her little brother's extreme pranks and immaturity, as well as the unfair judgments of Nai Nai. Their father is working in Taiwan, creating even more stress for these folks in Fresno.

Identity plays a huge role for Chris. His friends have always called him Wang-Wang, and at home he's referred to as Didi (little brother). A group of older skaters offers him his first chance to be "Chris" and 'half-Asian', and he takes it. He wants so much to be part of the big boy club, yet he fails hard when his crush Madi (Mahaela Park) initiates 'the nervous game.' He also flops at being the filmer for the skate kids, and his sister counsels with the age-old warning, "Don't do anything stupid." Of course, we know he will.

Being the summer of 2008, we see camcorders, MySpace, AOL Instant Messenger, A WALK TO REMEMBER, and flip phones, amongst other reminders of the era. It's interesting to see the first group of teens embrace the early days of social media, especially with the amateurish videos that slammed YouTube in those days. In this regard, director Wang has delivered a period piece, even if it's from less than 20 years ago. Google search also plays a starring role.

Most impressive is how the film, and the actors, capture the emotions we all recognize. Anger, confusion, and frustration are prevalent for Chris and his mother, the latter of whom gets a wonderful scene where she relays her perspective on life. It's heart-wrenching and Joan Chen nails it. As Chris, Izaac Wang details the absurd squirrel story which highlights his advanced level of social awkwardness. Included are references to Ang Lee and Spike Jonze, and the emphasis on Chris not being a stereotypical Asian-American. When summer ends, the braces come off, and Chris strolls into high school ... we easily understand why this won an Audience Award at Sundance. The digital version even includes some bonus features ('the making of DIDI').

Now available on digital and coming to Blu-ray on October 29, 2024.

You can always tell when scenes about the Asian American experience are included specifically so the non-Asian American audience notices. Like when there's a lingering shot on guests' shoes as they walk through the house, or when there's a pause after a particularly harsh reprimand from an elder. For the Asian American audience, these moments aren't out of the ordinary-and sometimes we look puzzled when we hear other moviegoers laugh or cringe or exclaim a knowing "Oh no, the shoes." But for the non-Asian American audience, these moments are foreign, highlighting the differences between the people on screen and themselves. Even if the family lives in the suburbs and the children are second generation American who speak perfect English.

In that way, the experiences of Didi's protagonist, Chris ("Wang Wang" to his friends and "Didi" to his mother)-the microaggressions directed at him, his shortcomings when reacting to his mother and friends, and even the way he codeswitches his name-are presented to the non-Asian American audience as a way of highlighting the different struggles and paths toward growth in an Asian American's coming-of-age story.

Even though adolescent angst has so many universal elements across all American experiences of it, audiences can relate to the awkwardness and shame and uncertainty portrayed in movies like Boyhood and Eighth Grade-and particularly the desire to fit in at school, with friends, or among family-differently than in Didi. Because there's a uniqueness in the tension of Didi's titular character. It's not just about fitting in to a world that is unrecognizable, one without the freedom and infinite possibilities of childhood imaginings but instead burdened by the rigid structures of socially imposed order, an inherent hierarchy perpetuated by class and culture in inculcated in our youth by media consumption and unspoken mores. There's also a cultural tension in Didi, a desire not to be like your sister or the other Asian American kids, to shirk the stereotypes and be less Asian (and more white). Chris must navigate fitting into an external world that is both his and not his, that is extremely familiar and yet so separate from his world at home-as evidenced by the different names he uses with his mother versus his old friends versus his new friends

By setting the movie in the early 2000s, Didi asks the audience to remember our own fledgling teenage years. And in that reflection, the Asian American audience sees ourselves (thematically, if not specifically) on screen. And the non-Asian American audience is meant to notice the differences, but still relate to the awkwardness and the desire to make friends and lose your virginity and steal from your siblings and yell at your mom. By noticing these differences in a quintessentially American coming-of-age story, the foreign moments become familiar and their own uniquely experienced adolescence becomes a little more universal.

This was a pleasant surprise. "Dídi" is a wonderful little indie film that more than delivers on the potential of its coming of age premise, and breaks new ground for the genre by finding unique ways to develop its characters.

The film offers an honest and touching look inside the life of a young Taiwanese-American teen as he navigates the awkward turbulences and heartbreaks of adolescence. As the film progresses, Chris, the young central character, ventures to discover himself and find his place in the world. We watch as he grows up and is forced to learn many of life's universal lessons, all while charting his own unique course through youth.

It's a familiar premise, but Sean Wang does something new and special with it, straying from the formula and imbuing the whole thing with subtle touches of realism, many of which I've never seen captured quite the same way in film before (HBO's Euphoria has a few moments which are comparable, but they're far more sensationalized than anything here). I really appreciated these novelties, as well as the film's frequently experimental approach/style, as they helped make things feel consistently fresh and new. Also, the fact that the timeline of Chris' childhood happens to line up almost exactly with my own made the whole thing especially enjoyable. They captured growing up in the 2000s perfectly.

I could definitely see this becoming a breakout hit, and to be honest, it may be the best film I've seen at a Sundance premiere (admittedly a limited selection, but I am from Utah, so I try to make it to the festival every few years). In any event, I'm looking forward to watching this again once it gets a wide release to see how it holds up on second viewing.

I am not Asian. I did not grow up in the 2000s. And yet, I absolutely related to this film and its protagonist. Because we've all navigated that awkward in between stage. Friendships change and feelings get hurt and moments feel way bigger than they actually are. Sean Wang managed to tell a story that evokes a particular moment and is timeless all at once. It helps that his actors (especially Izaac Wang and Joan Chen) feel familiar and real. Throughout this story I could feel the cringes and the hugs...and I could hear the inner monologues too. I have no desire to go back to being a freshman in high school, but if I did? It would look and feel a lot like this.

I saw last year's nominated documentary short "Nai Nai and Wai Po" without realizing that "Didi" was the fictionalized autobiography of that film's creator, Sean Wang. It didn't hit home to me until I saw the character of the grandma in "Didi," who was featured in the short film and is Sean Wang's actual grandmother. So that's all very cool.

"Didi" is very funny, and hits a lot of the targets about navigating adolescence and all its terrors that most of us who've lived through it would expect it to. I saw it with my 15 and 13 year old sons, and was a bit disappointed that it didn't seem to resonate more with them than it did. But I liked it.

It's mostly about a kid who thinks he always has to be something that others want him to be before he's had a chance to figure out what he wants to be himself. It also touches on what it's like to be "othered" by your racial identity (in this case Asian) without being preachy about it or making its audience feel like it's getting homework.

Not a groundbreaking film, but a nice alternative if you're looking for something beyond the typical summer movie fare.

Grade: A-