A family has gathered around their son as he prepares to leave home for college. Little sis is angling for him to leave her his iPad, dad is off shopping for treats, grandpa is imparting last minute wisdom and mom is fretting that there might not be any betel leaves at the market to prepare a ritual offering asking for the boy’s safety on his journey.
For this is an immigrant family with customs that the older generation cling to while the young ones look to their next steps toward adulthood with some trepidation. What we carry with us and what we leave behind is the “frame” in which we construct our identities, and it is a lovely theme for this film.
Sadly, the performances are rather flat except for the grandfather who is charming and encouraging to his grandson. The script lacks any real impact as the young man packs his things and his mother prepares a farewell dinner. A little more insight as to why she feels it is important to have those betel leaves and perhaps seeing her perform that ritual might have given more depth to her character. Also, the father is seen only briefly and seems to be ambivalent about his son leaving but we do not find out why. Little sister discussing her voice lessons gets more screen time than the son who is off to college without us finding out what he plans to study or even what school he will be attending. Navin Frame is a pleasant interlude with a family we would love to get to know better but never get the chance.
