{"id":23630,"date":"2024-07-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=23630"},"modified":"2024-07-24T13:51:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T20:51:10","slug":"review-didi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/review-didi\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Didi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A movie has rarely won me over so quickly as D\u00ecdi<\/em>, with its needle drop of Belle & Sebastian\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m a Cuckoo\u201d in its opening scene. D\u00ecdi <\/em>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written and directed by Sean Wang (Oscar-nominated short \u201cNai Nai & W\u00e0i P\u00f3\u201d), 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), <\/strong>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 D\u00ecdi (Mandarin for \u201cyounger brother\u201d), shifting his name, language, and behavior whether he\u2019s with his family, his longtime friends who are Asian-American or Black, or the older white teens whose approval he craves. D\u00ecdi<\/em> examines a pair of dualities: simultaneously being a kid and an adult, and being both American and seen as \u201cother,\u201d adding additional complexity to the pains of growing up and discovering your identity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the relationships in Chris\u2019s 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 \u2014 and with girls \u2014 and they make mistakes as they navigate this new territory. There\u2019s awkwardness and cruelty as they push boundaries and figure out what they should and shouldn\u2019t say and do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet D\u00ecdi<\/em> is at its most affecting in scenes with his family. Chris is tender and funny with his Nai Nai, who is played by Wang\u2019s own grandmother Chang Li Hua, \u201cNai Nai & W\u00e0i P\u00f3.\u201d 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 D\u00ecdi <\/em>gives Joan Chen\u2019s character Chungsing an identity beyond just being a parent. Chungsing is a well-developed role worthy of the actress, and she\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(Focus Features)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like Lady Bird<\/em>, D\u00ecdi <\/em>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\u2019s very much of a time and a place, while still feeling universal. However, what sets D\u00ecdi <\/em>apart is the diegetic soundtrack of AIM alert sounds, which are the 21st-century equivalent of Pavlov\u2019s bell in its ability to elicit an immediate, visceral response. It feels almost quaint when compared to everything kids have access to today, but D\u00ecdi <\/em>captures the crushing feeling of not being in someone\u2019s top 8 on MySpace and feels like a precursor to the 2024 social media landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u00ecdi <\/em>has spot-on period detail, but it doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s somehow simultaneously shaggy and well-crafted, marking an exciting feature directorial debut for its filmmaker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the adolescent experience, D\u00ecdi <\/em>is full of emotional highs and lows, but it\u2019s hard to leave it feeling anything but joy. It\u2019s so lovingly made, bursting with heart, real people, and attention to detail. D\u00ecdi <\/em>may reflect a singular experience at a specific time, but it\u2019s hard to imagine who wouldn\u2019t be swayed by its charms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B+<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Didi” is in theaters Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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