Dìdi is the directorial debut feature of Sean Wang, a Taiwanese-American filmmaker, and is the opening movie of this year’s Perth Festival Lotterywest Films. It is set in 2008 and tells the story of 13-year-old Chris Wang, also known as Dìdi, as he is about to enter high school and struggles to find his groove within his established friend group, a new group of guys he skates with and a fractured home life. the film’s script is unendingly witty and sharp, evoking films like Superbad (although much more tame) and balances its wit with an extremely empathetic and affecting story which may bring you to tears.
Izaac Wang plays Chris, and delivers a wonderfully realistic performance as a conflicted teen trying to fit in with his peers. Joan Chen, of Twin Peaks fame, plays Chris’ mother, who’s husband is in Taiwan working to earn the family money while she is left at home taking care of her mother-in-law and two children of her own. Chen plays a mother with a beautifully tender touch that will leave you outraged if she isn’t nominated in a supporting role at every awards show next year.
Dìdi, 2024. Directed by Sean Wang.
I wish I could say Dìdi is a perfect portrayal of America in 2008, however I’m not American and was 4-years-old in 2008, however, to my knowledge Dìdi handles its status as a period piece extremely well. Full of boxy computers, instant messenger, Myspace, early Facebook pages and endearingly outdated slang and jokes between Chris and his hilariously sharp friends. Raul Dial, who plays Chris’ best friend Fahad, gives some of the best lines of the movie with deliveries on par with comedic legends. Dìdi has such a strong cast it will leave you wondering how so many of the actors are giving performances like these in their debut acting roles.
Chris’ family being Taiwanese immigrants adds a layer of separation between Chris and his peers. Many of the characters are casually racist towards Chris during conversation, and it is handled in an awfully realistic way, Chris never mentions it. It contributes not only to Chris’ ‘otherness’ but also to the personal feel of the film, further grounding the audience in the touching drama and in the film’s atmosphere.
Dìdi avoids coming-of-age tropes and pitfalls, as it solely focuses on Chris’ development as a person, not wasting time on underbaked love stories or a school bully to round out the story and doesn’t using falling grades as a vehicle for progression, the focus solely being on Chris’ life solidifies Dìdi as a potential generation-defining coming-of-age film that evokes modern teen movies like Lady Bird and Perks of Being a Wallflower. Dìdi is set to open Perth Festival’s Lotterywest films on the 25th of November and is sure to make you laugh, cry and want to make you hug your parents.