The Farewell (2019) Movie Script
1
Nai Nai, hi!
Do you have a
second to save marine life?
Alright.
I was gonna say
something snarky, but...
I used to work this job.
Ooh, what happened girl?
You got fired?
I quit!
Because I was
about to get fired.
OK.
Nai Nai?
So one day the
wife goes out of town.
And when she returns,
the husband says...
honey, the cat is dead.
And she says "How can you tell
me so abruptly like this?
You have to ease
me into bad news."
Like honey...
the cat, he got on the roof.
So...
now...
a few months later the wife
goes out of town again.
And she returns, and the
husband greets her again.
But this time he
learned his lesson.
And as the wife comes
through the door he says,
"Honey, your mom,
she got on the roof."
How did you get in here?
-Nai Nai?
-Billi!
Ooh!
OK.
I love you, Nai Nai.
I love you.
I love you.
For what month?
For this month, May?
And what happened to April?
My mom says you
didn't pay April yet.
You know if you moved out
right now, we could literally
double the rent?
So what,
you're broke again?
Are you always going
to live like this?
Poor but sexy, I hope so.
Why you not
try to save, huh?
You should change your
expensive lifestyle.
Mom, if you're going to
give me shit every time
I come home, I'm not
coming home anymore.
Lower your voice.
Dad's sleeping.
Sleeping? It's 6:00 PM.
What's wrong with him?
Nothing.
He's just tired.
Is he okay?
He's fine, we're
just busy that's all.
Busy with what?
What's going on?
Hao Hao's getting married,
so we have to go to China.
What? Since when?
Hasn't he like just
started dating that girl?
You don't need to go.
No one's expecting you to go.
I mean,
he's my only cousin.
Don't you think
I should be there?
OK, OK.
Do you think he knocked her up?
How many wontons you want?
Five.
Five? That's not enough.
-Make a dozen then.
Ten's good.
OK.
What's wrong, Dad?
Nothing.
You and mom
got in a fight?
You've been drinking?
Please tell me what's going on.
You're scaring me.
Something's going on.
Just tell me what's going on.
Your Nai Nai's dying.
She has stage
four lung cancer.
The doctor says she
has three months.
Could be faster,
you never know.
-I need to call her.
-You can't do that.
-I need to go see her.
- Can't do that.
She doesn't know.
The family thinks it's
better not to tell her.
So you can't say anything.
I don't understand.
She doesn't have a lot of time
left, she should know, right?
There's nothing
they can do.
So everyone decided it's
better not to tell her.
Why is that better?
Chinese people have saying,
"when people get
cancer they die."
It's not cancer that
kills them, it's the fear.
OK, when were you
guys gonna tell me this?
How could you let me
find out like this?
How should I have told you?
Oh, your grandma's on the roof?
What about the wedding?
The wedding is an excuse
so everyone can go see her.
We leave first
thing in the morning.
I need to go.
Billie.
I need to go.
Everyone thinks
it's better if you don't.
Look at you.
You can't hide your emotions.
If you go now, Nai Nai
will find out right away.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Tony
Happy birthday to you
-Billi!
-Huh?
Should have called first.
Billi!
Stop fooling around,
oil is hot.
Don't be mad, Mom.
Where'd you get the
money to buy a ticket?
Credit card, right?
Mom, I'm fine.
Look at my face, look at my
face, look at my face, look.
Take to table.
-Billi.
-Hm-mm?
Thank you.
Ha!
Ho!
Ha! Ho!
Ha! Ho!
Ha! Ho!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha. Ha.
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ma.
So what's going on
with the fellowship?
Nothing.
You still
haven't heard anything?
No.
Well, when are
they gonna let you know?
I don't know, Dad.
How are you
doing with money?
I'm fine.
Can you
afford this trip?
Yes, I'm fine.
You need help?
No, I'm fine.
What is "mei nu"?
It means beauty.
Hm-mm?
Billi.
OK.
What's that mean?
They say you're a stock
investment and you're gonna make
us a lot of money.
Well we can't expect
that from you, right?
You are the losing stock.
Mom, that church is not
representative of all America.
We have a lot of problems.
Guns. Health care.
If you think China that
good, why don't you move here?
-What happened?
-I don't know.
Billi,
it's the wrong way.
This way is fine.
-We have to go around.
-He says it's fine.
Which way are we going?
Dad, do you know
where we're going?
-This way.
-My umbrella...
-Is this the right way?
-Yes.
Are you sure?
Ma?
Nai Nai.
Visit from America?
I went to school in
the UK for many years.
Oh, that's cool.
Where do you live?
Uh, I'm in New York.
New York. I always
wanted to visit New York.
It's a very beautiful city.
Yeah, it's
very beautiful...
Uh, question...
do you know about my
grandma's condition?
Ma!
How bad is she?
But you can tell me the truth.
The cancer
is quite advanced.
Shouldn't we tell her?
In her situation,
most families in China would
choose not to tell her.
When my grandmother had cancer,
my family didn't tell her.
Isn't it wrong to lie?
-I mean if it's for
good, it's not really a lie.
-I mean,
it's still a lie.
It's a good lie.
How's your grandmother?
She passed away, a few
months after she was diagnosed.
illegal.
How do you say illegal?
Ellen!
Mom, can we not do
this right now, please?
Mom!
Can we not right now?
Just leave him alone.
Nai Nai should not
be organizing this wedding.
If she enjoys it
then just let her do it.
She's sick.
She should be resting
or in a hospital.
Not stressing about
a fake wedding.
You really don't
know your Nai Nai.
You know she enjoys
bossing everyone around.
Makes her feel important.
Makes her feel in control.
-Mom.
-It's true!
That's why she hated to
stay in America in our house.
You know?
Because she could not
tell anyone what to do.
Whatever I do, never
good enough for her.
But she can't say anything
because it was my house.
Mom, stop!
What? What did I say?
You have always had issues
with her, but right now--
Oh, I don't have
a problem with her.
She's the one that
have a problem with me.
She's dying.
Can't you be a
little more sensitive?
What you want from me?
To scream
and cry like you?
You know when my father
died, I was also very sad.
But I don't act like you.
When I went back
to China for the funeral,
everybody was watching me.
They were all expecting
me to fall apart.
And they think if I don't
cry, I don't love my father.
No one's
asking you to cry!
I don't like, you know,
put all my emotion on display,
like I'm in the zoo.
But in here, if you don't cry,
you don't put on a show they
think you don't
love your family.
You know in here, they even
hire some professional criers.
Just to show how sad they are.
It's just so ridiculous.
I hate that.
Pour, just pour.
Yeah, pour, very good.
Wait!
This looks so familiar.
Do you remember that house?
You used to love to
play in the garden.
Where is it?
Dad?
Huh?
Are you smoking?
Hm-mm.
I thought you said you quit.
I did.
I will.
Go to bed, Billi.
What're you
guys talking about?
Nothing.
Billi.
-Mom?
-Yeah?
I want to stay in China
and help take care of Nai Nai.
What?
You stay here, to do what?
You can't cook, you can't clean.
I'll figure it out, Mom.
So you just stay here.
And what?
Wait for her to die?
What about the fellowship?
Just forget about it, huh?
You're 30 years old,
you can just stop your life
and stay here?
And every day she has to look at
you, with that sad looking face?
That's not nice
for anybody, right?
You know, one of the few
good memories of my childhood,
were the summers at Nai Nai's.
They had that garden.
Ye Ye and I would
catch dragonflies.
And then we just
moved to the States.
Everything was different.
Everyone was gone.
And it was just the three of us.
I know it was hard.
It was hard for us too.
I wanted to believe that
it was a good thing,
but all I saw
was fear in your eyes.
And I was confused
and scared constantly
because you never
told me what was going on.
And then Ye Ye died.
You didn't even
tell me he was sick.
So it felt like he just...
vanished suddenly.
And you wouldn't even
let me go to his funeral.
You were at school.
We didn't want you
to miss school.
We did what we thought
was best for you.
But I never
saw him again.
And every time I
came back to China, he just
wasn't there anymore.
And I come back
and he's just gone.
The house is gone, A Die's gone,
our Beijing home is gone and
soon she'll be gone, too.
Billi!
Does everyone know?
I think most
people don't know.
But I'm not sure.
Billi?
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
Sorry, how do you say
congratulations? Dad?
Gong xi!
Gong xi Hao Hao Aiko!
Thank you.
And so I came
to see her
And listen for a while
And there he
was this young boy
A stranger to my eyes
Strumming my
pain with his fingers
Singing my
life with his words
O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance
of those promises
You never
dared to vow
The splinters that you carry
The cross
you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind
And let the
heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing
of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace
O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind
O see the
darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing
of the reason
Come healing of the heart
O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The heart
beneath is teaching
To the
broken heart above
And let the
heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing
of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Oh let the
heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing
of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Ha!!
Ha!!
Ha! Ho! Ha! Ho!
Nai Nai, hi!
Do you have a
second to save marine life?
Alright.
I was gonna say
something snarky, but...
I used to work this job.
Ooh, what happened girl?
You got fired?
I quit!
Because I was
about to get fired.
OK.
Nai Nai?
So one day the
wife goes out of town.
And when she returns,
the husband says...
honey, the cat is dead.
And she says "How can you tell
me so abruptly like this?
You have to ease
me into bad news."
Like honey...
the cat, he got on the roof.
So...
now...
a few months later the wife
goes out of town again.
And she returns, and the
husband greets her again.
But this time he
learned his lesson.
And as the wife comes
through the door he says,
"Honey, your mom,
she got on the roof."
How did you get in here?
-Nai Nai?
-Billi!
Ooh!
OK.
I love you, Nai Nai.
I love you.
I love you.
For what month?
For this month, May?
And what happened to April?
My mom says you
didn't pay April yet.
You know if you moved out
right now, we could literally
double the rent?
So what,
you're broke again?
Are you always going
to live like this?
Poor but sexy, I hope so.
Why you not
try to save, huh?
You should change your
expensive lifestyle.
Mom, if you're going to
give me shit every time
I come home, I'm not
coming home anymore.
Lower your voice.
Dad's sleeping.
Sleeping? It's 6:00 PM.
What's wrong with him?
Nothing.
He's just tired.
Is he okay?
He's fine, we're
just busy that's all.
Busy with what?
What's going on?
Hao Hao's getting married,
so we have to go to China.
What? Since when?
Hasn't he like just
started dating that girl?
You don't need to go.
No one's expecting you to go.
I mean,
he's my only cousin.
Don't you think
I should be there?
OK, OK.
Do you think he knocked her up?
How many wontons you want?
Five.
Five? That's not enough.
-Make a dozen then.
Ten's good.
OK.
What's wrong, Dad?
Nothing.
You and mom
got in a fight?
You've been drinking?
Please tell me what's going on.
You're scaring me.
Something's going on.
Just tell me what's going on.
Your Nai Nai's dying.
She has stage
four lung cancer.
The doctor says she
has three months.
Could be faster,
you never know.
-I need to call her.
-You can't do that.
-I need to go see her.
- Can't do that.
She doesn't know.
The family thinks it's
better not to tell her.
So you can't say anything.
I don't understand.
She doesn't have a lot of time
left, she should know, right?
There's nothing
they can do.
So everyone decided it's
better not to tell her.
Why is that better?
Chinese people have saying,
"when people get
cancer they die."
It's not cancer that
kills them, it's the fear.
OK, when were you
guys gonna tell me this?
How could you let me
find out like this?
How should I have told you?
Oh, your grandma's on the roof?
What about the wedding?
The wedding is an excuse
so everyone can go see her.
We leave first
thing in the morning.
I need to go.
Billie.
I need to go.
Everyone thinks
it's better if you don't.
Look at you.
You can't hide your emotions.
If you go now, Nai Nai
will find out right away.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Tony
Happy birthday to you
-Billi!
-Huh?
Should have called first.
Billi!
Stop fooling around,
oil is hot.
Don't be mad, Mom.
Where'd you get the
money to buy a ticket?
Credit card, right?
Mom, I'm fine.
Look at my face, look at my
face, look at my face, look.
Take to table.
-Billi.
-Hm-mm?
Thank you.
Ha!
Ho!
Ha! Ho!
Ha! Ho!
Ha! Ho!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha. Ha.
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ma.
So what's going on
with the fellowship?
Nothing.
You still
haven't heard anything?
No.
Well, when are
they gonna let you know?
I don't know, Dad.
How are you
doing with money?
I'm fine.
Can you
afford this trip?
Yes, I'm fine.
You need help?
No, I'm fine.
What is "mei nu"?
It means beauty.
Hm-mm?
Billi.
OK.
What's that mean?
They say you're a stock
investment and you're gonna make
us a lot of money.
Well we can't expect
that from you, right?
You are the losing stock.
Mom, that church is not
representative of all America.
We have a lot of problems.
Guns. Health care.
If you think China that
good, why don't you move here?
-What happened?
-I don't know.
Billi,
it's the wrong way.
This way is fine.
-We have to go around.
-He says it's fine.
Which way are we going?
Dad, do you know
where we're going?
-This way.
-My umbrella...
-Is this the right way?
-Yes.
Are you sure?
Ma?
Nai Nai.
Visit from America?
I went to school in
the UK for many years.
Oh, that's cool.
Where do you live?
Uh, I'm in New York.
New York. I always
wanted to visit New York.
It's a very beautiful city.
Yeah, it's
very beautiful...
Uh, question...
do you know about my
grandma's condition?
Ma!
How bad is she?
But you can tell me the truth.
The cancer
is quite advanced.
Shouldn't we tell her?
In her situation,
most families in China would
choose not to tell her.
When my grandmother had cancer,
my family didn't tell her.
Isn't it wrong to lie?
-I mean if it's for
good, it's not really a lie.
-I mean,
it's still a lie.
It's a good lie.
How's your grandmother?
She passed away, a few
months after she was diagnosed.
illegal.
How do you say illegal?
Ellen!
Mom, can we not do
this right now, please?
Mom!
Can we not right now?
Just leave him alone.
Nai Nai should not
be organizing this wedding.
If she enjoys it
then just let her do it.
She's sick.
She should be resting
or in a hospital.
Not stressing about
a fake wedding.
You really don't
know your Nai Nai.
You know she enjoys
bossing everyone around.
Makes her feel important.
Makes her feel in control.
-Mom.
-It's true!
That's why she hated to
stay in America in our house.
You know?
Because she could not
tell anyone what to do.
Whatever I do, never
good enough for her.
But she can't say anything
because it was my house.
Mom, stop!
What? What did I say?
You have always had issues
with her, but right now--
Oh, I don't have
a problem with her.
She's the one that
have a problem with me.
She's dying.
Can't you be a
little more sensitive?
What you want from me?
To scream
and cry like you?
You know when my father
died, I was also very sad.
But I don't act like you.
When I went back
to China for the funeral,
everybody was watching me.
They were all expecting
me to fall apart.
And they think if I don't
cry, I don't love my father.
No one's
asking you to cry!
I don't like, you know,
put all my emotion on display,
like I'm in the zoo.
But in here, if you don't cry,
you don't put on a show they
think you don't
love your family.
You know in here, they even
hire some professional criers.
Just to show how sad they are.
It's just so ridiculous.
I hate that.
Pour, just pour.
Yeah, pour, very good.
Wait!
This looks so familiar.
Do you remember that house?
You used to love to
play in the garden.
Where is it?
Dad?
Huh?
Are you smoking?
Hm-mm.
I thought you said you quit.
I did.
I will.
Go to bed, Billi.
What're you
guys talking about?
Nothing.
Billi.
-Mom?
-Yeah?
I want to stay in China
and help take care of Nai Nai.
What?
You stay here, to do what?
You can't cook, you can't clean.
I'll figure it out, Mom.
So you just stay here.
And what?
Wait for her to die?
What about the fellowship?
Just forget about it, huh?
You're 30 years old,
you can just stop your life
and stay here?
And every day she has to look at
you, with that sad looking face?
That's not nice
for anybody, right?
You know, one of the few
good memories of my childhood,
were the summers at Nai Nai's.
They had that garden.
Ye Ye and I would
catch dragonflies.
And then we just
moved to the States.
Everything was different.
Everyone was gone.
And it was just the three of us.
I know it was hard.
It was hard for us too.
I wanted to believe that
it was a good thing,
but all I saw
was fear in your eyes.
And I was confused
and scared constantly
because you never
told me what was going on.
And then Ye Ye died.
You didn't even
tell me he was sick.
So it felt like he just...
vanished suddenly.
And you wouldn't even
let me go to his funeral.
You were at school.
We didn't want you
to miss school.
We did what we thought
was best for you.
But I never
saw him again.
And every time I
came back to China, he just
wasn't there anymore.
And I come back
and he's just gone.
The house is gone, A Die's gone,
our Beijing home is gone and
soon she'll be gone, too.
Billi!
Does everyone know?
I think most
people don't know.
But I'm not sure.
Billi?
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
Sorry, how do you say
congratulations? Dad?
Gong xi!
Gong xi Hao Hao Aiko!
Thank you.
And so I came
to see her
And listen for a while
And there he
was this young boy
A stranger to my eyes
Strumming my
pain with his fingers
Singing my
life with his words
O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance
of those promises
You never
dared to vow
The splinters that you carry
The cross
you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind
And let the
heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing
of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace
O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind
O see the
darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing
of the reason
Come healing of the heart
O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The heart
beneath is teaching
To the
broken heart above
And let the
heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing
of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Oh let the
heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing
of the spirit
Come healing of the limb
Ha!!
Ha!!
Ha! Ho! Ha! Ho!