Dìdi (2024) — A Refreshing Entry In The Coming-Of-Age Genre— Movie Review
Though Familiar, It Is Different From The Rest
The delightful film Dìdi is Director Sean Wang’s debut film about a boy that navigates familial relationships, friendships, awkwardness, infatuation, and learning how to skate during the summer before he starts high school. It is a film that is soaked in late 2000’s nostalgia, comedy, and emotion.
People are going to inevitably compare this film to Eighth Grade, Lady Bird, and Mid90s. While those comparisons are valid in some ways, I think this film is entirely its own flavor of coming of age. It leans heavily on the day to day of growing up. It is a slice-of-life. It does not focus on having a driving conflict that forces the character to grow. It instead throws a ton of awkwardness, vulgarity, angst, and loneliness at the viewers for them to grapple with. It isn’t until the end of the film that we truly can see how things are supposed to come together. The journey is what makes this film so watchable. It is hard to watch because of how painfully awkward this stage of life is, but it is also hard to look away. We have all been there. Dìdi is one of the most relatable coming-of-age films I have ever seen; and that has everything to do with the unfiltered lens they use to showcase Dìdi’s summer before high school.
A Blast From The Past
It is incredible how this film completely nails what it felt like to grow up in the late 2000’s. While I wasn’t quite old enough to have a MySpace account, my brother that was a few years older than me was. The film had iPod Nano’s, Paramore, Motion City Soundtrack, absurd YouTube videos, instant messaging, and emoticons. Along with all of the media, it also had that sweaty and ignorant feel to it. It had that unique gritty and melancholic feel that took up the atmosphere at the time. Growing up in the late 2000’s meant you were either a terribly mean bully or getting bullied. There wasn’t a whole ton of mercy. Fights would break out an a daily basis, you were bullied for being a virgin, and a lot of people seemed to be some type of racist or homophobic. This film could have ignored all the rotten stuff from the era and gotten away with it, but I am glad they kept it in so we can authentically recall what it was like. It made this film that much more emotionally resonant.
A Gut Punch In Drama and Comedy
The family dynamic is portrayed so carefully and powerfully. It feels like you are in that family for the runtime. Being a parent is hard. Being a grandparent is hard. Being a sibling is hard. Being in a family is hard. Living for your family despite all of its hardships is hard to do, but it is entirely worth it.
While the dramatic moments are impactful, a lot of this film is also just straight up hilarious. I laughed more than I have in any other film to come out this year.
The cast couldn’t have been chosen anymore perfectly. The chemistry each actor has with each other is remarkable. The line delivery is top notch. All of the performances are incredibly strong yet subtle at the same time. They are quietly great, but oh boy they are great.
Astounding cinematography, soundtrack, score, and editing. Across the board, they really nail it from a technical standpoint. The shots in this film adds to the feeling of being lost that is so often felt in the teen years. That made the film hit so much harder.
This film is my Lady Bird. I cannot wait to watch this again and again.
Rating: 9/10