Didi – A Resonant Coming-Of-Age Story

What has made coming-of-age films such an effective subgenre for so long is how their stories often reflect the experiences of audiences on screen. But over time, those experiences have evolved in order to be more reflective of the diversity of audiences who go to the movie theatre. That being said, not many have approached the Gen Z or teenage Millennial generation of the early 2000s, before the advent of the internet and social media as well as much of the technology may are used to using today. At that time, it was all about hanging out with our friends outside of school and chatting with one another using instant messaging services over dial-up internet. Debuting at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Didi, winner of the US Dramatic Prize and the US Dramatic Special Jury Award Ensemble Prize (and nominee for the Dramatic Prize), is a coming-of-age drama that just hits differently. Offering yet another perspective on the subgenre, the film delivers the kind of story that is sure to resonate with all audiences. While short, running at 90+ minutes, the film still packs an emotional wallop as a snapshot of a simpler, purer, time. A journey about discovering one’s identity and finding one’s self during those vital teenage years. The undisputed heart of the film, Izaac Wang and Joan Chen are phenomenal as writer/director Sean Wang’s adept hand makes for a watch with an uncanny ability to hit all the right notes.

Didi takes place in the last month of summer of 2008 and follows an impressionable Taiwanese teenage boy named Chris (Wang), otherwise known as Didi, as he navigated his last summer before high school. With his father working overseas to support their family, Chris lived with his mother Chungsing (Chen), his big sister Vivian (Chen), and his Nai Nai (Zhang Li Hua). A pivotal time in all their lives, each had their own moments of self-discovery as Chungsing struggles to take care of her kids and her household essentially by herself while trying to pursue her dream and carve out a life for herself all as she was consistently criticized and belittled by her aging mother-in-law. As her kids grew up, she just wanted to raise them right and have them prepared before she sent them out into the world. On the precipice of high school, Vivian was on the verge of college. Like any big sister-little brother relationship, it was playfully combative but endearing. Undoubtedly leaving a void in her absence, it marked a transition period for Chris and Chungshin. Meanwhile, the absence of Chris and Vivian’s father and the drama that came from it were not lost on them.

Ultimately, a time of great change for Chris, he faced some tough lessons as he looked to belong in a world that seemingly was leaving him behind. He wasn’t the only one with growing up to do as he found himself navigating a series of evolving relationships while under the same pressure that every teen boy faces as they get older. It was through these trials and tribulations that Chris learned things he could only learn by experiencing them himself, like love and loss and loneliness. Chris’ arc over the course of that last summer was easily the highlight, as he tried to grasp on to anything he could. When it appeared that he and his friends were drifting apart, his allegiances slowly moved elsewhere, pursuing a crush and finding a new community in a group of skateboarders who needed someone to film them in action. Being something he’s not as a means to fit in, reconciling his Taiwanese identity and the kind of person he believed he had to be led him to spiral. Taking on that roller coaster of emotion on his own, the answer, in the end, was to reconcile his relationship with his mother. Believing himself to be a burden, Chungshin dispelled that notion almost immediately through an emotional scene with her son that helped to set him back on the right track.

As a whole, there is a genuineness to Didi that makes its many emotional notes hit that much harder. Pulling from his childhood emotions and experiences, Sean Wang’s personal connection can be seen in every frame. That level of care is also reflected in the script that will bring back feelings of nostalgia, but also rings true. Packing an emotional wallop, the film also plenty of hilarious moments and a lot of heart. An endearing tale that many audiences will see themselves in, Wang knows how to connect with audiences for which countless will relate to Chris and his need to belong. What makes it all work are the aforementioned phenomenal performances from Wang and Chen. First, showing range beyond his years, Wang brings charisma and a vulnerability that makes Chris a relatable and even more compelling character to watch. Chen, on the other hand, carries Chungshin’s pain and frustration with her across every scene in a subtle yet powerful way. While Wang’s Chris is the more showy performance, she nevertheless shines through and grounds the film. Though Wang and Chen’s chemistry is another highlight, Shirley Chen, as Vivian, rounded out that family dynamic nicely.

At the end of the day, Didi is a wonderful coming-of-age story for a new generation, offering a different perspective that will resonate with all audiences.

still courtesy of Focus Features

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.