'The Farewell' is an elegant film that will give you all the feels

The premise of The Farewell, a new  critically acclaimed comedy-drama directed by Lulu Wang, is so simple and yet it unfolds in such a beautiful, all encompassing way, that I was really blown away by it.

I'm not ashamed to admit that this movie brought me to tears.

The plot revolves around a traditional Chinese family (featuring Awkwafina as the lead, hailing from New York) who are conflicted about letting their matriarch (a dazzling Zhao Shuzen) know she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Shuzen plays 'Nai Nai' with such wit, charm and pathos that you come to fall in love with her (in a just world her performance and Awkwafina's will be remembered come Oscar time) and it makes the secret being hid from her character that much more devastating.

Despite the stakes of the film, it never lapses into sentimentality or manipulation. It is a very funny movie and even when the movie breaks your heart (in particular during a gut wrenching wedding toast) Wang manages to work in a laugh amid the tears.

Awkafina holds the whole thing together with a performance that should assure her status as a major actress. In Ocean's Eight she clearly didn't have enough to do and in Crazy Rich Asians she was a comedic firecracker.

She has some funny moments here too, but here, as the most American member of the family she has the difficult role of not only being the audience surrogate but also the character most burdened by the secret medical news that drives the plot.

And although the film is steeped in Chinese culture -- the lie is justified as a matter of respect and dignity -- there is something universal about this story. You'll want to give your parents and other loved ones a call after seeing this one.

It's an odd release for this time of year -- it feels like it would be more at home in the fall, during awards season. Instead it's this bright light in what has mostly been a dreary summer movie season.

I certainly won't forget it anytime soon. And it definitely made me think more about cherishing the people I love, which is no small feat for any movie.