Do white lies really exist and is it okay to lie to the loved ones? And how can a child turn into a dog? The comedies “The Farewell” directed by Lulu Wang and “Greener Grass” directed by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe come out October, 17th in “Listapad. The Collections”. Both films are the Sundance Film Festival sensations. This summer “The Farewell” overthrew “The Avengers” in terms of American box office revenue. Meanwhile, “Greener Grass” scored 100% tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes film critic website. You can watch the films at the Falcon Club Cinema Boutique up until October 30th.
A funny and inspiring story about an awkward girl Billi who comes to her family’s house in China. Here, the family arranges the grandson’s wedding too keep her grandmother’s diagnosis in secret from the grandmother herself. “The Farewell” is one of the most touching stories about the endless power of love and family that unites and supports, sometimes against the odds.
When talking about “The Farewell”, Lulu Wang said that the basis for all movies was the catharsis that appears when truth comes out. She wanted to abstract herself from it. She didn’t want any judgement on any character, neither the decision that was made by the family. For Lulu this story was an opportunity to speak about how we express our love. The most important things in the family are often left untold.
The Farewell is the second feature film directed by Lulu Wang. At the Sundance film festival it was nominated for the Drama Grand Prix and won Audience choice award. Awkwafina, an actress and a screenwriter, played one of the leading roles in the tragicomedy. She is known for her role in the melodrama “Crazy Rich Asians” and received the prize “Outstanding Performance by a Cast” (SAG Awards).
““The Farewell,” Lulu Wang’s second feature, conjures a premise so rich with potential comedy, heartbreak and family weirdness that it can only have come from real life,” writes the New York Times about the film.
“Greener Grass” is an absurd middle-class satire from popular comedians Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe. It grew out of the short film of the same name in 2015. Its creators – Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe – took the roles of screenwriters, directors and actresses playing two leading female roles.
Is it possible to be too polite with your neighbours? Can a child be too obedient? And can teeth ever get too even?
Two wealthy housewives, Liz and Jill, live a carefree life in the American suburbs with its perfectly trimmed golf courses and white fences. Rival friends are ready for anything in order to keep their normal. Once, during one of the children’s football matches, Liz complimented her friend: her new-born daughter was very beautiful. Jill, without thinking twice, decides to give her daughter to Liz as a present and she agrees. A little later, during a pool party, the other Jill’s child Julian suddenly turns into a dog.
“It’s still pretty freaking funny,” writes the Hollywood Reporter on the film. “Like Wes Anderson taking on a Black Mirror instalment…or David Lynch suddenly directing an episode of Desperate Housewives,” Indiewire pointed out. The Variety called the film “the most pleasant surprise of … Sundance Film Festival” and also noted that the film “is that kind of movie, as if a movie quite like this has ever existed before. It’s a square peg in a sea of round holes.”