By As I sit down to write this review for Dong Zijian’s My Friend An Delie, I’m left pondering how to approach my thoughts. Do I provide a recap of the events and potentially spoil the film’s biggest trick, or do I go for something more cerebral and leave people wondering what the overall movie is? As a critic, am I trying to sell a movie to readers, or do I simply provide my thoughts and let the reader decide for themselves? Does the score I attach undo any critique I may provide?
The thing is, My Friend An Delie is structured in a way that I didn’t quite expect. Taken at face value, it’s very similar to something like Christopher Nolan’s Memento, but then it’s not told explicitly out of order or in an obfuscated manner to confuse the viewer. There is an intention to its sometimes-jumbled delivery, meant more to take viewers on a journey than deliver a linear story. It does contain a thread that lingers through each scene, however, so it’s also something of a traditional story.
Maybe all of these elements don’t always work, but when the credits rolled, I couldn’t get My Friend An Delie out of my head.
My Friend An Delie
Director: Dong Zijian
Release Date: October 28, 2024 (TIFF), July 22, 2025 (NYAFF)
Country: China
My Friend An Delie starts rather unassumingly aboard an airplane. Having been called home to attend his father’s funeral, Li Mo (Liu Haoran) starts to trudge up some memories of his youth while making the journey up north. After exiting the bathroom, he happens to notice someone who looks like his old friend, An Delie (Dong Zijian). He approaches the man, and while his assumption was correct, An Delie doesn’t seem to remember him. He claims that Li Mo is his friend, but the man before him is not the same Li Mo. He was also called to the same funeral, so the two decide to finish their trip together so they can reminisce about the old days. A snowstorm complicates things, forcing the duo to slowly trek across China to get home and uncover some ugly truths about their past.
For most of the films that I cover at the New York Asian Film Festival, I typically look up a brief summary or watch short clips to decide on which films I’ll devote time to. I then make the list, and after a few weeks, I’ll hear back from NYAFF’s PR and get cracking. What this does, however, is sort of clear the film from my mind in the intervening weeks. My Friend An Delie was one of the films that required studio permission to watch, so I didn’t even have screener access until the final week of the festival. In that time, I completely forgot why I had even wanted to check this out.
Why am I telling you this? Mostly because it explains why the trick of the film worked so well for me. The description I’ve given will, hopefully, not spoil the surprise that rests at the end of the story. It’s the kind of twist that doesn’t feel cheap or unwarranted, but also manages to flip the entire film on its head. The NYAFF’s website almost gives it away, but doesn’t quite hint at the true horror lying at the end of Li Mo’s journey.
© Nineteen Pictures
That is why I ultimately started this review with questions rather than statements. From a filmmaking perspective, My Friend An Delie has strong direction, great use of darkness in its cinematography, and some solid acting, but it’s not unlike other films I’ve seen this year. The film considerably picks up once you figure out the core thematic element, but stating what that is will spoil the mystery of it all. The considered pacing, specific editing techniques, and somber atmosphere will stop mattering because you’ll be trying to spot where the story gives up the ghost. This is similar to a whodunit in that knowing the outcome robs you of a unique experience.
Now, I will say that after the big reveal, it’s not like My Friend An Delie becomes a bad film. There’s a quiet contemplation littered throughout about how childhood memories and survival from an abusive household can color your perception later in life. I can tell you that My Friend An Delie weaves its tale throughout the past and present, with Li Mo thinking back to specific instances in his youth where An Delie and him were just goofing off. Both had rough upbringings, with Li Mo’s mother leaving one night and stranding him with his drunkard father, while An Delie was beaten by his dad on a regular basis. Both kids went through the wringer, and those scars still linger, affecting how they talk to each other in the present.
The general pacing can linger in these moments, but it does illustrate the immense pain both men have. While they had become the best of friends, their lives were upended one night by a particularly traumatic event that had separated the two for the past 15 years. Their unlikely reunion dredges up that hurt, forcing both men to confront the events of their lives that they’ve worked to forget. Hell, at one point, Li Mo’s father even tells him that forgetting is the best way to cope with things (it is not).
© Nineteen Pictures
I really don’t want to say more, though. Maybe this isn’t my favorite film from NYAFF this year, but I really loved how My Friend An Delie trusted the viewer enough to put the pieces together. Even when you do learn about the one awful event that severed Li Mo and An Delie’s connection, the film refrains from giving a concrete explanation. You’re left to make an interpretation of what happened, and if everything the film has told you is even real. It’s a really fantastic re-framing of the entire story that makes me eager to watch it again.
Maybe I’ll have to do a Deep Analysis of this film, but suffice it to say, My Friend An Delie is an emotional journey through childhood pain that will give you a lot to think about. Some elements drag it down a bit (the lack of any real musical score or the sometimes-dodgy framing), but it comes out the other end as an accomplished film from director Dong Zijian. I’m eager to see what else he gets up to moving forward.
