Directed by Sean Wang and starring Izaac Wang, Dídi does more than skate by on its indie, hometown hero charms.
Before you ask, “Dídi” is Chinese for “Younger Brother,” which I don’t recall Dídi, the film, ever outright explaining (not that it needs to). Within the context of the movie, “Dídi” is the name of affection given to Chris Wang or Wang Wang or perhaps Sean Wang, the first-time feature director of this obviously autobiographical coming-of-age dramedy set in Fremont, California. Fremont being, by the way, located in the heart of the Bay Area — some of us who live around here would say the “armpit,” but not me, of course.
Dídi follows the hot summer-long days of Dídi/Chris/Wang Wang/Sean (played by Izaac Wang) in the months before his senior year of high school in 2008. The laughs, the loves, and the embarrassment (honestly, mostly embarrassment) take center stage as his creative interests overlap with the burgeoning social media era of yesteryear, as well as that awkward phase of life right after the most awkward phase of life but right before things start finally looking up. Sort of. Theoretically.
“All my friends just call me Wang Wang.”
Dídi runs the gamut of finding the realistic in the relatable, while never losing its specific place and time and cultural identity. The film takes some obvious cues from Boyhood, Lady Bird, and many another grounded diary entry turned movie where the mother (in this case Vivian Wang, played by Shirley Chen) delivers pretty much all of the heart-pounding Oscar reel performance scenes. But don’t count out the rest of this game cast, many of whom are first-time actors plucked graciously from around the Bay Area. As for me, er, I was busy that day.
While not quite a far-off period piece along the lines of Minari, Dídi still manages to make a meal out of 2008, down to its instant messenger tunes and showing in real-time the transition many of us (myself included) went through when switching from MySpace to Facebook, simply because, well, that’s where the energy shifted. Dídi lifts some of the most amusing, electric scenes out of Searching, where we simply navigate a computer screen to get inside the head of the person using it…though Dídi notably has far less attempted murder, for what it’s worth. Not less than zero, but definitely less.
“Do you know how your behavior makes me look?”
Probably the most fascinating thread Dídi pulls on, though, is its careful inspection of the artistic mind well before it reaches its prime. Showing us a person with real talent but not the validation, such as Vivian. But then also Dídi himself, who’s just on the precipice of figuring out how to shoot film. There’s no magical, overnight discovery of inherent greatness, no. Dídi literally looks stuff up on YouTube and starts riffing. And now Dídi — sorry, Sean Wang — has a film that played Sundance under his belt.
That’s not even getting into the thoughtful, often complicated details surrounding Dídi’s identity as a Taiwanese American trying to control how he feels, often manifesting in either nervous silence, withdrawal, or sudden bursts of emotional angst. Growing apart from friends, drifting away from the older sibling who surprisingly has your back when it counts, and simply trying to figure out how the world works when you can connect with people via online filter.
The bottom line.
Dídi is a bitter portrait at times, but an honest one. Rarely do we get to love such tough-to-like characters in the most middling places, and yes I’m referring to Fremont (sorry), regarded as one of the “happiest” places to live in America. Sure, whatever you say. At least the Golfland is a good time (just kidding, it’s in Milpitas).
Dídi is now playing in limited release. Watch the trailer here.
Images courtesy of Focus Features. Read more articles by Jon Negroni here.
REVIEW RATING
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Dídi - 8/10
8/10
Jon is one of the co-founders of InBetweenDrafts. He hosts the podcasts Thank God for Movies, Mad Men Men, Rookie Pirate Radio, and Fantasy Writing for Barbarians. He doesn’t sleep, essentially.
