“Dìdi (弟弟)” - Film Review
Those of us who came of age in the early aughts lived in a strange limbo. We grew up playing outside and going home when the streetlights came on, but we’re also the first generation to grow up with technology woven into the fabric of society in ways that are all-consuming. It’s probably unfathomable for teens today, who have grown up with social media playing a massive role in their lives, to see its humble beginnings in the form of early Facebook, the drama of AIM messenger, and the brutal way we used to rank our friendships for the whole world to see. It’s the summer of 2008 in Sean Wang’s directorial debut, Dìdi, and life is about to change.
Dìdi, aka Chris, aka Wang-Wang (Izaac Wang), is thirteen years old. He’s just graduated from middle school and is preparing to go to Fremont High. At the same time, his older sister, Vivian (Shirley Chen), is leaving for college in a few weeks. They live with their mom (Joan Chen) and grandmother (Chang Li Hua) in Northern California while their dad lives and works in Taiwan to provide for the family. Chris is experiencing all of the angst-ridden woes of being a teen. He feels like his friends (Aaron Chang & Raul Dial) don’t like him anymore, he has a crush on a cute girl (Mahaela Park), and he desperately wants his mom to get out of his business. Throughout the course of the summer, Chris will find his footing, make mistakes, and begin the never-ending coming-of-age process.
Courtesy of Focus Features / Talking Fish Pictures, LLC. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.
As someone who is two years older than Chris, it’s easy to recognize Dìdi as a near-perfect recreation of my own adolescence. Not only did director Sean Wang need to recreate the physical world of 2008, but he also needed to recreate the digital landscape that was beginning to play such a large role in the lives of teenagers. MySpace, Facebook, AIM, YouTube, all of these websites were in their infancy, and it's thanks to (or because of) my generation that some of those sites are the behemoth forces they are now. So much of adolescence happened on the screen, but in a sort of stilted way. Unlike today’s teens, who have to deal with unrealistic expectations that come from social media in the form of celebrities and influencers, the internet of the early aughts was a little like the Wild West. We were using it to hone our passions in a semi-anonymous way.
It’s impossible to explain the rush of an AIM message from your crush, especially now, when people are so easily connected in so many ways. Yet Dìdi manages to capture the tension, exhilaration, and fear that comes from the simple sound of an AIM notification. When Chris is chatting with his crush, you can feel cheer bubbling up in your chest because it’s so easy to remember being that kid, sitting alone in your room, the only light coming from the glow of your desktop computer. It’s so easy to root for him because there’s likely at least some small part of you that understands him and feels for all the teenage anxiety brewing in him that’s desperate for release.
Courtesy of Focus Features / Talking Fish Pictures, LLC. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.
Dìdi also tackles the flippant racism and homophobia of the early aughts. Chris tries his hardest to be a cool guy, someone who’s effortlessly unbothered by everything around him, but it’s clearly not true. The film’s opening scene sees the family at the dinner table. Vivian, their mom, and their grandmother are all using chopsticks, while Chris uses a fork. This sort of simple moment that speaks such volumes is what Dìdi does best. Izaac Wang is wonderfully grounded as Chris, but it is Joan Chen as his mother who is the beating heart of the film. Chen has such a storied career, one I was introduced to in Alice Wu’s Saving Face, (a performance and film that had a profound impact on my life). Chen’s actions are so specific, yet so simple, that by the time the film ends, it feels like she has become the audience’s own mother.
It’s Dìdi’s earnestness that makes its uber-specific 2008 story find a place in 2024. Just like Eighth Grade and Lady Bird, these are stories intrinsically tied to a particular time, space, and technology. Even though they aren’t our own autobiographical experiences, they feel like hazy memories of our adolescence. Dìdi extends a warmth and kindness to the lost, angry, and hopeful teen we all once were.
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