Food plays a subtle role in Lulu Wang’s film ‘The Farewell’

Throughout Lulu Wang’s movie "The Farewell," a Chinese family gathers around the dinner table. They’ve come together for a wedding banquet, though it’s a ruse.

The real reason for their reunion: The matriarch of the family is dying of cancer. But the family has chosen to keep the news a secret from her. The film is based on Wang’s life. In 2013, she rushed back to China after learning her grandmother was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.

Wang tells Good Food's Evan Kleiman that in “The Farewell,” food is meant to show the family's dilemma when it comes to expressing love.