Review of Didi

midlandsmovies • September 7, 2024

DÌDI (弟弟) (2024) Dir. Sean Wang


The film tells of the summer of 2008 where teenager Chris Wang, who's about to go into high school battles with friendship, love, and family in a beautifully moving coming-of-age story.


Straight away, if you are a fan of devastatingly amazing coming of age films, this one is for you. DÌDI (弟弟) is an excellent mashup of the best movies in the genre. ‘Lady Bird", "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "Eight Grade" all come to mind when viewing this film, but that's not to say it's unoriginal. This film is wonderfully unique, capturing the essence of what it was like to be a kid in the noughties during the emergence of the internet and filled to the brim with Paramore posters, cringe Facebook walls, and pop punk on the radio.


Furthermore, there are many layers that are effortlessly executed in this movie, including the idea of family trauma being passed down from generation to generation in an endless cycle, which was a compelling part of this story. The family feels authentic and real that it struck the hardest nerve. But perhaps the most prominent part is the theme of fitting in. The protagonist Chris tries his hardest to fit in but so much so that he starts self-destructing, burying parts of him to make people like him and doing things he shouldn't for approval. Which is a part of childhood that so many people experience.


The film showcases a star-making performance from Izaac Wang who plays Chris effortlessly and is able to execute subtle emotional changes and the complex mental state of a teen without having to rely on dialogue that spells things out. Paired with him is the mesmerising performance of his mum Joan (played by Chungsing Wang). Her struggling single mum is just trying her best, but with the weight of her family on her shoulders, she often bumps heads with her them. But she delivers a very sympathetic character with a performance allowing us to understand why she is the way she is.


The cinematography radiates nostalgia as warm golden hues are present throughout to make the audience feel cosy and transports us back in time to relive our own universal childhood experiences. The American suburban backdrops are heavily reminiscent of classic American teen comedies like Superbad. And the costuming's and environments all scream the early 2000s.


The 1.85:1 aspect ratio and close-ups feel immersive and personal, like a viewer is reliving all these experiences for the first time again.


DIDI is a harsh reminder that teenagers go through so much. Friends grow up into people you no longer want to be around and we feel like outcasts when transitioning into new chapters of life. But most importantly we can also lose ourselves when trying to move on.


The film is down-to-earth and unapologetic in the way it portrays teen life, and accurately shows the struggles so many teens go through daily. And all these emotions and feelings are packed tightly into an excellent 93-minute runtime and it manages to capture such an authentic moment in time that I couldn't help but applaud all its aspects.


★★★★½


4.5 / 5


Jacob Holmes

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By midlandsmovies April 26, 2025
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer  Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
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