Dìdi (2024)

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of Chris AKA Dìdi, a Taiwanese-American rising high school freshman in 2008 Fremont, California, learning some life lessons. Director/writer Sean Wang's feature debut won the Audience Award and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award at Sundance. Izaac Wang is terrific in the title role, with Joan Chen as his patient mother, Zhang Li Hua as his critical grandmother, Shirley Chen as Didi's sister, Stephanie Hsu in a cameo in a YouTube video, and a cast of many first-time actors in Wang's semi-autobiographical story. Dìdi means younger brother in Mandarin.

Eighteen minutes of Giosuè Greco's score can be streamed on Apple Music. The movie was shot on location in Fremont last year.

Chen has done a lot since I wrote about her in Mao's Last Dancer and Hsu was last blogged for Joy Ride. Izaac Wang (no relation to the director), now 17, was in Good Boys and voiced a part in Raya and the Last Dragon, though I failed to mention him. 

Zhang is Sean Wang's real grandmother and appeared in his Oscar nominated documentary short Nai Nai & Wai Po (with his other grandmother). You can stream the 16½ minute short on Disney+, I think for free, and Wang has also directed a feature documentary. Chen played the younger version of Sandra Oh in Quiz Lady, and Greco has scored nine features, four of which have 2024 release dates.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are fraternally grateful for this movie, averaging 96 and 92%, respectively. I downloaded it with my subscription to Peacock to watch on October 27 on a cross-country plane trip. It's also available to rent on the usual platforms.