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Dìdi (弟弟)
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Didi, a movie about an awkward Asian teenager, won the Audience Award after its world premiere at the Sundance festival on January 19th, 2024. Although it is set for a theatrical release on July 26th it’s not making its way to Minnesotan theaters until August 9th so it was an absolute joy to see this state’s first sneak preview at the Trylon Cinema on July 25th.
The south Minneapolis theater in the Longfellow district seats 90. For every guttural laugh I had, the crowd amplified it making each hilarious scene even grander in scale. For every sad emoji moment, there were audible gasps and even exclamations, or more like whispers of “noooo....” For example, when the main character Chris decides to delete his old YouTube videos, forever lost to the ether.
The film was set in 2008, 5 years after MySpace was launched. It could be argued that at the time, this was the preferred social media platform since TheFacebook was not available to kids 13 and older until 2006. For those not familiar with MySpace, there was a huge music presence, making it a much easier way to consume the medium when the internet was young. And yes, I remember having to rate my friends, agonizing who would make it to my top 8.
There was a ton of great music reflected in the movie but the connection to MN is local artist’s Motion City Soundtrack has a song playing in one of the scenes as well as a new song titled “Stop Talking” written for the movie, that is the first song as the credits start to roll. Sound Unseen, which hosted the event, reached out to the band, but they declined, forwarded their regards but fans will be excited to find out that they were busy recording their new record. Other bands on the actual soundtrack include Belle & Sebastian, Hellogoodbye and Atmosphere.
On a personal note, growing up Asian, it felt like this movie was written for me. Like literally, my little brother is a skater who makes videos and we grew up in a town in California seriously close to Fremont where the movie is set. The subtext every time the mom, played by Twin Peak’s Joan Chen, asked Wang Wang if he had eaten yet, was one I had heard every time my own mother asked. But even if you’ve never frenched a French fry, I highly recommend seeing this movie.
The south Minneapolis theater in the Longfellow district seats 90. For every guttural laugh I had, the crowd amplified it making each hilarious scene even grander in scale. For every sad emoji moment, there were audible gasps and even exclamations, or more like whispers of “noooo....” For example, when the main character Chris decides to delete his old YouTube videos, forever lost to the ether.
The film was set in 2008, 5 years after MySpace was launched. It could be argued that at the time, this was the preferred social media platform since TheFacebook was not available to kids 13 and older until 2006. For those not familiar with MySpace, there was a huge music presence, making it a much easier way to consume the medium when the internet was young. And yes, I remember having to rate my friends, agonizing who would make it to my top 8.
There was a ton of great music reflected in the movie but the connection to MN is local artist’s Motion City Soundtrack has a song playing in one of the scenes as well as a new song titled “Stop Talking” written for the movie, that is the first song as the credits start to roll. Sound Unseen, which hosted the event, reached out to the band, but they declined, forwarded their regards but fans will be excited to find out that they were busy recording their new record. Other bands on the actual soundtrack include Belle & Sebastian, Hellogoodbye and Atmosphere.
On a personal note, growing up Asian, it felt like this movie was written for me. Like literally, my little brother is a skater who makes videos and we grew up in a town in California seriously close to Fremont where the movie is set. The subtext every time the mom, played by Twin Peak’s Joan Chen, asked Wang Wang if he had eaten yet, was one I had heard every time my own mother asked. But even if you’ve never frenched a French fry, I highly recommend seeing this movie.
DÌDI (弟弟) - Official Trailer
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