Coming of age is fun, yet awkward and uncomfortable. Leaping Middle School to High School is one of the defining moments in our lives, as it is the official goodbye to our childhood. Becoming an adult is now on the distant horizon, and we begin crafting the mold of who we are to become. Writer-director Sean Wang captures these final years of the privilege of youth in his warm, funny, and honest picture, “Dìdi.”

Coming off the heels of his wonderful Oscar-nominated short, “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” from 2023, Wang’s semi-autobiographical film is set in his hometown, the predominantly Asian American Bay Area suburb of Fremont during the summer of 2008.

The film follows thirteen-year-old Chris Wang (Izaac Wang), or “Wang Wang,” as his friends call him. Young Chris lives with his Taiwanese American family: his mother, sister, and Nǎi Nai (grandmother), who affectionately call him Dìdi, Mandarin for “little brother.” Chris’s absent father works overseas, though the mood suggests he wants to be far away from his family.

Chris desires to make online videos to get him a following and, hopefully, more friends. His main focus falls mostly on him and his buddies playing pranks in the neighborhood, but Chris finds something intoxicating when he meets a trio of amateur skateboarders who task him with filming their “clips.” Even though he lies to them about having real experience, they all form a quick bond. What begins as a chance to fit in amongst a new group of people reveals itself as Chris’s beginning of forming a worldview. The focus on getting the right shot or angle mirrors the young man’s search for a purpose.

For Chris, finding himself is a struggle. As the days go on, he basically “wings it” when it comes to fitting in. As perhaps the only kid his age who never saw “Jaws” or “Star Wars,” Chris is crafting a version of himself to fit what he perceives others will like, molding his persona to whomever he is hanging with that day. He tries to emulate the perceived coolness of his buddy Fahad (Raul Dial). For a crush on a local girl named Madi (Mahaela Park), he spends time perusing her MySpace page to have things to talk about. He even takes his big sister’s band shirts and hoodies to make it seem like he is “in the know” about modern pop culture. Chris is an outcast of his own making, never letting himself appear vulnerable. The character could be seen as a failed “Zelig,” Woody Allen’s masterful comedy about a human chameleon.

Wang’s film doesn’t let Chris off the hook, nor does it make excuses for his behavior. He is a teenager with an attitude. The screenplay is refreshingly frank and profoundly sincere in depicting how this period of one’s life will sometimes have more downs than ups, yet we all survive. Once one enters high school and grows up, it allows the distance to examine who we were only a few years ago. Things become clearer as we move into our teens. The child fades; childhood passes.

Izaac Wang is quite the revelation. His performance is so candid and truthful that it feels like the film is a documentary. The young actor conveys his character’s frustration, pain, and not-so-fully-disguised sadness with an effortless realism.

While “Dìdi” follows Chris as he navigates his way to being a high-schooler, the essence of Wang’s screenplay is found in the familial relationships. Chris’s mother, Chungsing (Joan Chen, in an Oscar-worthy performance), his paternal grandmother, Nǎi Nai (Wang’s real-life grandmother Chang Li Hua), and his older sister Vivian (a wonderful Shirley Chen) are the center of his emotions, both good and bad. Growing up in this house of women with no male role model, Chris finds almost everything they do embarrassing. This is a young man who cannot see the importance of their respective influences. Chris constantly argues with his mother and his sister, who is less than two weeks away from leaving for college.

As Chungsing, Joan Chen gives a performance of absolute purity. The character is sweet and kind to her children but carries the struggle of single motherhood and the pain of being a failed artist. Chungsing loves her children, even if they rebel at almost everything she does for them. A particularly sad moment comes when Chris tells his mom how her paintings are terrible and that she is a failure. Chen’s quiet reaction reveals an acknowledgment, but the woman won’t dare let her son tap into that regret. The actress makes Chungsing a complete person, never saintly, but almost always kind. Sometimes, her frustration with Nǎi Nai’s old ways causes friction, and her constant worry over her children’s lives will never go away, but this is a good mother who only wants the best for her family. The emotions held within the character are powerfully moving. Joan Chen delivers one of the year’s finest performances.

“Dìdi” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the audience and special jury awards for its ensemble. I couldn’t think of a more fitting honor, as the cast is terrific. The film will undoubtedly connect with audiences of all backgrounds, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it get short-listed for an Academy Award.

Sean Wang has graciously given audiences a love letter to youth and the lasting bond between a mother and her children. The emotions are deeply felt, and there is strength in the characters, even if they can’t realize it in the moment. Provocative, funny, heartbreaking, relatable, and full of love, “Dìdi” is one of this year’s finest.