Dear You / 給阿嬤的情書 - Movie Review

The Movie: Dear You / 給阿嬤的情書

The Director: Lan Hongchun

The Cast: Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi, Wang Xiaohui, Zhao Shuguang, Li Deru, Li Shuhao, Seamkhum Usha

The Story: A debt-ridden grandson travels to Thailand to find the grandfather he believes abandoned their family, hoping the man behind years of qiaopi letters and remittances can help pay his debts. Instead, he uncovers a lifelong act of love and sacrifice.

The Rating: 10/10

The Review:

Yes, you read that right, this movie that you probably never heard of is a solid ten out of ten in my book and easily one of the best movie-watching experiences I've had in a long time. The story is so rich and textured and filled with family and history and culture. It's funny, it's dramatic, it's emotional, it's educational, it's heartwarming, and it's heart breaking. The movie is all of that at the same time, which is no small task, especially when, even in China where it was made, the movie came out of nowhere without any major stars to become huge hit at the box office.

With movies like this that are so well crafted and have such a rich, cultural and historical backdrop, I'm always afraid that the words I type won't ever come close to doing them justice and that is definitely the case as I sit here and try to tap my keyboard in a way that conveys even a fraction of how this story made me feel. To write this review, I was sent an advanced copy to watch at home although now I'm very tempted to go see it again in a theater because it's just that good. Visually, it's a stunning piece of art from the beautiful landscapes of southeast Asia to the carefully crafted costumes and set pieces, I can just imagine what it looks like on the big screen.

The filmmakers went to great lengths to immerse the audience into the decades of culture and history that are portrayed in the story with the connective tissue being letters called qiaopi which were commonly written by Chinese overseas workers who sent them along with money they earned to support their families back home. These letters are the heart of the story for this movie, and the writing team pulled ideas from real qiaopi to piece everything together and I believe that's why it works so well. The characters are thoughtfully written, and the cast members bring them to life in very authentic and meaningful ways.

The story itself is a journey of discovery and how the past may not always be what it seems. These journeys, told through a couple different points in time and several different character perspectives, are what makes the movie such a compelling and emotional experience. By the time the movie came to an end, I was hit hard by the tragic and heartbreaking events that unfold, but at the same time, the story manages to be very inspirational and emotionally uplifting as well. Yes, I shed more than a few tears and yet, the movie and the characters that inhabited this world left me with such an overwhelmingly positive feeling that those tears were equal parts sadness and joy.

Ultimately, this movie is an enlightening and necessary tribute to more than a century's worth of lives and stories and letters and it's told in a way that truly honors the spirit of how hard people worked and the lengths they would go to serve and provide for their families. In some ways, it reminds me of Lulu Wang's The Farewell, another movie that takes a deep dive into generations of storytelling and comes away with something truly special.

Thank you for reading this review, I really hope you will give this movie a chance, especially while it's playing in theaters. I was very happy to see that exhibitors are giving the movie a decent North American release with several theaters right here in the Seattle area listing multiple showtimes.