Dìdi - A Taiwanese-American Coming of Age Movie (With Downloadable Study Cards)

Dìdi is a 2024 movie that tells the story of a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy living in the Bay Area during the summer before he starts high school. The film explores his humorous and heartfelt experiences as he learns life lessons outside his family's guidance, including skateboarding, flirting, and navigating adolescence. Inspired by the director’s, Sean Wang's own childhood, Dìdi is his feature film debut.

《弟弟》是2024年上映的一部成长喜剧电影，讲述了一个生活在湾区的13岁台裔男孩，在暑假期间的一些故事。导演用幽默的方式呈现了主角在开始高中生活前所面临的挑战，以及他是如何在没有家人的帮助下解决这些青春期小烦恼的。影片灵感来源于导演王湘圣（Sean Wang）自己的经历，这也是他首次执导的长片。

You might think Dìdi is just another coming-of-age movie, but what really sets it apart is that it’s told from the perspective of a Taiwanese-American immigrant boy. His family dynamic plays a huge role in the story. Throughout the film, you get a real sense of what it’s like growing up as an immigrant kid in the U.S., and it dives into some interesting family issues, like dealing with an absent father but a very present grandmother. Another key theme in the movie is Dìdi’s sister leaving for college, which brings its own set of emotions and challenges for the family.

与其他成长题材电影不同的是，《弟弟》是以台裔美国人的视角讲述了自己的生活经历。通过这个故事我们可以了解到台湾移民在美国的生活，以及存在于家庭中的问题：缺席的父亲和强势的奶奶。

What moved me the most about the movie were the evolution of the mother-son relationship and the many other relatable moments; like the grandmother’s constant criticism of the mother while fussing over her grandson and taking such good care of him.

整部电影给我触动最大的除了母子关系的变化，还有很多感同身受的细节，比如奶奶对妈妈的指责，对孙子无微不至的关心等等。

For Chinese learners: More than half of the movie's dialogue is in English; pretty much any conversation outside of Dìdi's family happens in English. However, when it's family time, they mostly speak Chinese, and the language is fairly simple to follow and full of useful everyday vocabulary. To make things even easier and more fun, I've created some study cards featuring important lines and recurring vocabulary from the movie. I recommend going over them before watching so you won’t need to rely on the English subtitles as much!

电影中超过一半的对话是英语。不过在家庭场景中，他们主要使用中文，语言相对简单易懂，有很多日常生活中会用到的词汇。我还制作了一些学习卡片帮助大家掌握单词。我建议大家先通过这些卡片学习剧中的词语，这样看电影的时候就不太需要依赖英文字幕同时又复习了中文词汇。

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