Coming-of-age stories are a timeless tradition in the film industry. For decades, Hollywood has been flooded with movies that center on the trials of growing up and aim to capture the relatable, formative moments in their characters’ lives. In a summer defined by sequels and nostalgia-inducing franchises , Dìdi stands out as an original story that offers a fresh perspective in a long line of big-screen bildungsromans.
Following its limited release in late July, Dìdi expands to theaters nationwide on Friday. (In Mandarin, “dìdi” is a term of endearment that translates to “little brother.”) Written and directed by Sean Wang, the semi-autobiographical film follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese American kid named Chris (Izaac Wang), just as he’s about to enter high school.
He crushes on a girl, grows distant from his childhood friends, and starts to hang out with a few older kids, all while he fights with his sister, Vivian (Shirley Chen), and his mom, Chungsing (Joan Chen), at home. While these plot points may sound familiar in the realm of coming-of-age narratives, it’s how this story is told—and the world that the film establishes—that makes Dìdi feel so refreshing even in well-trodden territory. “For me, it was knowing that we’re playing with this genre that has the most clichés and the most tropes out of, I think, any genre, but then finding ways to infuse a language that hopefully feels new and fresh and unique,” Sean Wang tells The Ringer .
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