Fearing Billi will end up exposing the lie to her grandmother, Haiyan and Jian tell her to remain in New York City.

Guilt-ridden, Billi expresses conflicted thoughts with her parents over the Chinese cultural beliefs that result in a family refusing to disclose a life-threatening disease, including the trauma of her grandfather passing away without her knowledge after they moved to the United States.

She says she had many disheartening encounters with American and Chinese financiers who wanted to include a "prominent white character into the narrative and punch up the nuanced drama to turn it into a broad comedy.

"[7] Wang later created an episode titled What You Don't Know for This American Life in April, 2016 based on her family's story.

[11] In an interview with Filmmaker, cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano stated that the references for the film included Force Majeure and Still Walking.

[13] In January 2019, A24 acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film for $7 million, over Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

[22][23] The Farewell was a box office "flop" in China, grossing only $580,000 by January 2020 in what was then the world's second-largest film market.

[24] According to Sixth Tone, the film's delayed theatrical release—to prevent it from being lost in the hype surrounding Disney’s Frozen 2—was a big factor in the low gross since many in China had already seen it abroad or online.

The website's critics' consensus reads: "The Farewell deftly captures complicated family dynamics with a poignant, well-acted drama that marries cultural specificity with universally relatable themes.

[28] Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film an A− grade and praised Awkwafina's performance, writing, "As a Chinese-American grappling with the traditionalism of her past and its impact on the future, she's an absorbing engine for the movie's introspective look at a most unusual family reunion.

[30] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote, "Wang movingly tells not just a story about the negotiations of familial love, but also of the immigrant experience, of revisiting one's homeland to, in some senses, say goodbye to it.

"[32] Brian Lowry of CNN.com described it as a "small, melancholy movie that explores cultural differences and dealing with death in an utterly charming, understated manner.

"[34][35] Former United States President Barack Obama named The Farewell amongst his favorite films and television series of 2019 in an annual list released on December 29, 2019.