Didi
Most teenage boys feel like they know everything they need to know in order to get through the world. When something happens that dislodges that certainty from their minds, it’s jarry, and it can be ugly is disarming. The protagonist of Sean Wang’s “Didi” has several moments in a row that starts to do that, leading to the moment that truly changes him, an exchange with his mother that culminates in one of the most vulnerable moments either one has had in the film. By the time it happens, I was all in on Wang’s film, and it just clinched my love of the film further.
I feel like I’ve brought it up in another review somewhere, but when I was a teenager, I said something to my mom that was not only a profoundly low blow, but something that will haunt my for the rest of my life. I’m sure it’s long left my mother’s mind due to dementia, but I’ll always regret that moment, not only because it was out of character for me, but because she didn’t deserve her son feeling that way about her, regardless of how complicated our relationship has been over the years. I have no doubt that Chris Wang, the main character in “Didi” (and played by Izaac Wang) is very much a reflection of the writer-director in his teenage years. The maturity with which he handles Chris’s coming-of-age, and the way Chungsing Wang (his mother, played by Joan Chen), in the film is a sign of profound growth on his part.
It is not a far stretch to say that Chris is an entitled shit in this film. He and his sister, Vivian (Shirley Chen), argue constantly, but not necessarily in a fun, sibling way. He doesn’t seem to respect either his mother or his grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhang Li Hua), who lives with them. He and his friends joke around in ways that most people will find pretty rough, and when it comes to girls, it’s all about base desires. This is going to get Chris in trouble more than once throughout the film, and I can understand if Chris, through Izaac Wang’s wonderful performance, is just too unbearable a protagonist for people. That is the point, though; this might be one of the most authentic looks at being a teenage boy I’ve ever seen, and that is a big part of why “Didi,” for all its rough language, attitude and irreverence, connected with me.
A couple of days removed, I find myself thinking back most to the dynamic between Chris and his mother. Joan Chen is absolutely fantastic in this role; she is the ultimate “stay at home” mother, tasked with taking care of the household while her husband is in Taiwan for work. She is getting grief on all sides, however; from Nai Nai- her mother-in-law- who criticizes everything she does; from Chris and Vivian, who cannot seem to get along; and from the outside pressure of other mothers whose children are so much more successful than hers are. Most of all, she is feeling grief from herself, as she is trying to establish herself as a painter on top of raising Chris and Vivian. This is part of why the scenes between her and Chris pack such a punch near the end; these two characters are finally vulnerable enough to be truly honest with each other, and it might hurt, but it will ultimately lead to healing. I like the place we are left with at the end of “Didi”- one phase of life ends, another one begins from different emotional footing than where we were before. It’s going to have its challenges, but the rewards will be that much better when they are achieved from a changing of our perspective.
