Dìdi (2024)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Fremont Savant

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Sean Wang's feature filmmaking debut Dìdi feels fairly familiar, easily recalling recent films like Eighth Grade and Mid90s, but it also has its own singular voice, and an attention to detail that brings it up a notch. It's set in 2008, in Fremont, California, where the director is from. Freshman year of high school is looming for Chris Wang (Isaac Wang), a scrappy 13-year-old who lives with his older sister Vivien (Shirley Chen), his mom (Joan Chen), and his Nai Nai (Zhang Li Hua).

He's teasingly called "Wang Wang" by his friends and lovingly called "Dìdi" by his mother. He blows up mailboxes for YouTube videos and gets into dumb fights. He has a crush on a girl, Madi (Mahaela Park), and lucks his way into a kind of "date" with her, but has no idea what to do. (He even watches a "how to kiss" tutorial online.) And, of course, not-so-subtle racist and judgmental phrases are tossed around carelessly. It's not easy being one of the only Asian kids in a largely White community.

He begins drifting apart from his friends "Soup" (Aaron Chang) and Farad (Raul Dial), and falls in with a group of older skaters, becoming, with the help of a few white lies, their "filmer." A lot of his communication occurs on flip-phones or on MySpace, AIM, or a brand-new site called Facebook. At home, his father is absent, working in Taiwan (we never see or hear from him), and Chris's mom has a tense relationship with Nai Nai, her husband's mother. And Vivien's departure for college is coming up fast.

Everything more or less falls apart for Chris, but thankfully director Wang has a warm sense of humor about it all, and the film is frequently hilarious. In one scene, Chris is at a highly uncomfortable lunch with his mom and another mother whose child — unlike Chris — is an accomplished achiever. At one point the fish on Chris's lunch plate begins speaking encouragements to him. It's so out of left field, and the fish's voice is so funny, that it just feels right.

But what lingers are the film's touching moments. Vivien and Chris fight viciously and brutally throughout (he even urinates in her bottle of face cream!) but at one point, he comes home and he's at his lowest point. She starts ribbing him, he snaps, and… she gets it. She starts to understand that Chris is more than just a little brat. He's lonely and hurting. Moments with Nai Nai are just as sweet, such as Chris telling her that she's beautiful, and another bittersweet scene in which she has collapsed in the back yard, and we watch silently, helplessly, through the kitchen window.

Even better are Chris's moments with his mother. Chungsing is an artist, never able to truly pursue her passion. She carries a certain sadness, all the time, but it's mixed with genuine love, and genuine caring. In one sequence, Chris runs away from home and spends the night in a playground. He walks home, dismayed that she didn't look for him. And she talks to him calmly, sadly, reasoning that she knew he would come home. Chen achieves a remarkable balance in this role, and it's a pinnacle of performance in a fine career.

Dìdi has a strong visual style, attempting to re-create a look and feel of 2008, but never drawing attention to it. (The MySpace, AIM, YouTube, and other graphics were created by graphic designers and animators in post-production.) Wang knows when to move his camera frenetically and when to slow down and become more reflective. It may seem like a simple movie, but it's uncommonly smart and skilled, transcending its genre.