Kimber Myers
A movie has rarely won me over so quickly as Dìdi, with its needle drop of Belle & Sebastian’s “I’m a Cuckoo” in its opening scene. Dìdi is set in 2008 and depicts the summer of a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy living in Fremont, California, with wonderful specificity. Yet even with the details that may not feel familiar to each viewer, it will resonate with anyone who loves that twee indie pop band, as well as anyone who remembers how it felt to be a young teen desperately trying to fit in and figure out who you are. So, basically everyone.
Written and directed by Sean Wang (Oscar-nominated short “Nai Nai & Wài Pó”), this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy centers on Chris Wang (Izaac Wang). In the summer before he starts high school, Chris fights with his older sister (Shirley Chen), is embarrassed by his mom (Joan Chen), and has a crush on Madi (Mahaela Park), all while trying to be a skate filmer. He alternately goes by Chris, Wang Wang, or Dìdi (Mandarin for “younger brother”), shifting his name, language, and behavior whether he’s with his family, his longtime friends who are Asian-American or Black, or the older white teens whose approval he craves. Dìdi examines a pair of dualities: simultaneously being a kid and an adult, and being both American and seen as “other,” adding additional complexity to the pains of growing up and discovering your identity.
All of the relationships in Chris’s life feel real, particularly in the antics and banter of teens hanging out and wreaking havoc together. Chris and his friends are still discovering how to interact with each other — and with girls — and they make mistakes as they navigate this new territory. There’s awkwardness and cruelty as they push boundaries and figure out what they should and shouldn’t say and do.
Yet Dìdi is at its most affecting in scenes with his family. Chris is tender and funny with his Nai Nai, who is played by Wang’s own grandmother Chang Li Hua, “Nai Nai & Wài Pó.” He fights fiercely with his older sister before she leaves for college, but they have a special bond born of the shared experience of growing up in their family together. The relationship with his mother is especially rich because Dìdi gives Joan Chen’s character Chungsing an identity beyond just being a parent. Chungsing is a well-developed role worthy of the actress, and she’s wonderful to watch, especially in her interactions with Izaac Wang as Chris. Wang is just as good in hilarious little shit mode as he is when being sensitive and feeling everything that you do at 13.
Like Lady Bird, Dìdi perfectly expresses what it was like to be a teen at a particular time. The soundtrack features artists like the aforementioned Belle & Sebastian, as well as Motion City Soundtrack, Atmosphere, and Hellogoodbye, and it’s very much of a time and a place, while still feeling universal. However, what sets Dìdi apart is the diegetic soundtrack of AIM alert sounds, which are the 21st-century equivalent of Pavlov’s bell in its ability to elicit an immediate, visceral response. It feels almost quaint when compared to everything kids have access to today, but Dìdi captures the crushing feeling of not being in someone’s top 8 on MySpace and feels like a precursor to the 2024 social media landscape.
Dìdi has spot-on period detail, but it doesn’t feel overly nostalgic or precious about its 2008 setting. Writer-director Wang gives it a lo-fi aesthetic that feels like a natural progression of what Chris might have progressed to after getting his start as a skate filmer, and there are some truly lovely images and uses of light. It’s somehow simultaneously shaggy and well-crafted, marking an exciting feature directorial debut for its filmmaker.
Like the adolescent experience, Dìdi is full of emotional highs and lows, but it’s hard to leave it feeling anything but joy. It’s so lovingly made, bursting with heart, real people, and attention to detail. Dìdi may reflect a singular experience at a specific time, but it’s hard to imagine who wouldn’t be swayed by its charms.
B+
“Didi” is in theaters Friday.
