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It is a consensus of the entire industry that this summer season is extremely critical.

As the halfway point is approaching, it should be said that the entire schedule has lived up to everyone's high expectations. There are a variety of films of various types and themes, which have also activated the basic audience base of the summer schedule, which is mainly young people. If there is still something missing, it is the very important realism track, which was vacant before.

This gap has now been filled by Xu Zheng's "Reverse Life".

"Reverse Life"

Looking back at the many works Xu Zheng has starred in or directed in the past, his most popular attribute is of course comedy. However, it should be emphasized that realism has also been a track that Xu Zheng has been working on for a long time. Even comedies are comedies with a strong realistic style.

The earliest urban comedy films such as "Love Call Transfer" and "Lost on Journey" opened up Xu Zheng's recognition on the big screen. For example, "Lost on Journey" cleverly combined the traditional road type with the Spring Festival travel rush, which is full of local characteristics and life. In the subsequent "Lost on Journey" series "Lost in Thailand" and "Lost in Hong Kong", Xu Zheng presented the so-called middle class or successful people, and the crises and hardships they face in their career struggles.

"Lost on Journey"

"Dying to Survive" is an important transformation of Xu Zheng's screen image. Cheng Yong is a complex civilian hero, and the social issues expressed in the film are also a rare peak in domestic realist films.

I Am Not the God of Medicine

In the two short films that I call the "Shanghai Series", Xu Zheng strives to combine the mainstream narrative of the historical dimension with the personal perspective of citizens: "Win the Championship" juxtaposes moments of national pride with the daily life of Shanghai people in the alleys, and "Duck Prophet" tells the story of the pioneers of the advertising industry in the 1980s who were treading on thin ice to break into a new world. Both works use a nostalgic perspective to lead the audience to relive a slice of history, and realism is their important background.

"My Motherland and I" - "Winning the Championship"

We can roughly summarize a common feature. Xu Zheng's past realistic creations all intentionally create a certain observation distance between the audience and the characters in the plot, such as the distance in identity, personality, and time and space.

But the new film "Reverse Life" is different. I would like to call it a close combat with reality.

Xu Zheng completely returned the observation perspective to "each me". He is no longer a social elite, no longer a hero fighting for justice. He tells the reality and struggle that every audience has experienced personally. This is a creative attitude that every ordinary person in 2024 can resonate with.

"Reverse Life"

In this film, Xu Zheng plays Gao Zhilei, who was initially a technical backbone of a large Internet company. After working diligently for the company for eleven years, he was laid off. Faced with heavy pressures such as mortgage payments, his father's illness in the hospital, and his daughter attending an international school, he began to become a food delivery rider.

Takeaway is a cross-section of contemporary life that has been digitized and systematized. There are more than 10 million takeaway riders on various platforms, connecting the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people. The difficulty of creating works with this professional group as the theme is unprecedented. How to focus on showing this huge professional group through a few screen characters requires strong skills and difficult choices.

The choice of Gao Zhilei, a new rider who changed his job halfway through his career, to enter the film is quite ingenious. Using a new pair of eyes to understand the world of food delivery riders is in line with the audience's superficial familiarity with the food delivery industry, but in fact they are unfamiliar with it.

"Reverse Life"

So, we can see that Gao Zhilei encountered many setbacks since the first order. He rode his bike unsteadily, was unfamiliar with the road conditions, had trouble picking up the food, and also suffered all kinds of strange requests and difficulties from different customers.

As he became familiar with the delivery business, Gao Zhilei not only became familiar with the complex delivery road conditions and established good relationships with many merchants, but also used his experience as a programmer to develop a small program that facilitates all riders to deliver food. The narrative tone of the film gradually changed from depression to excitement, allowing people to realize the harshness of social reality while also expressing their "burning" and "cool" emotions.

Here, Xu Zheng obviously brought together the experiences and struggles of thousands of riders and presented them in a typical way, which is clever and necessary for the characterization.

"Reverse Life"

On the one hand, this dramatic conflict will make it easier for the audience to emotionally project themselves on the male protagonist who has already fallen to the bottom, and when he gets out of the trough, they will be able to resonate with him emotionally from the bottom of their hearts.

On the other hand, it also allows most viewers who are unfamiliar with the situation of food delivery riders to understand the working environment of this profession in the shortest possible time.

In addition, in this process, most viewers also switched from the perspective of consumers to that of service providers, examining some behaviors that they rarely pay attention to when ordering takeout food. Moreover, the film directly shows the dramatic contrast brought about by the protagonist's identity change. At the beginning, Gao Zhilei got angry at the rider who delivered coffee because he was laid off. Not long after, he was hesitant to deliver coffee to a former employee of the company. This contrast reflects the subtle gap between interpersonal relationships and careers in reality.

"Reverse Life"

In addition to this subtle shift in perspective, Xu Zheng also made some sharp social observations in this film. For example, when Gao Zhilei was laid off, he complained that the company was disrespecting old employees, but his boss whispered to him like a devil that the layoffs were actually the result of the "optimization" of the human resources system he designed.

Even not long after, when he came to the company to deliver food again, he found that the junior who replaced him was confronting the company leader in almost the same scene. Such a scene was hilarious, but also left a bitter aftertaste.

The film is not just a story about the current situation of food delivery riders. Based on the story centered on Gao Zhilei, "Reverse Life" also focuses on portraying a group of characters, radiating from the food delivery rider group to a wider group. It is more like a social observation report. It can be said that this is a story related to the present and to everyone.

"Reverse Life"

The "small group of protagonists" in the film includes Dashan played by Wu Jiakai, who was approached by Gao Zhilei while eating in a restaurant and live-streaming. Later, he became Gao Zhilei's apprentice when he entered the industry. Dashan has a lively personality and rich life experience. He always says "It's much easier to get takeout here than in Chongqing" and always says in live broadcasts that he will marry his girlfriend when he makes a lot of money.

Wu Jiakai as Yang Dashan

Feng Bing plays the role of Dahei, a man of few words who keeps to himself. He is familiar with the streets and alleys of the city and has compiled his own takeaway delivery tips. He is the "single king" of the takeaway station. However, the "single king" can also be envied by others. Some people complain that he is too "cowardly" and does not lend a hand when others ask him to help transfer orders. He is too selfish, and even caused a physical conflict. As a result, Dahei, with a bloody head, screamed in a crying voice: "I just want to live a better life today than yesterday. I want to change my life."

Feng Bing as Dahei

Wang Xiao plays the role of "Old Stingy" who, as his name suggests, used tape to fix broken headlights and torn clothes. He even refused to spend money to be hospitalized after being hit by a car, and limped home while taping the wound. When you walk into his home, you will find that his family of four lives in a small house of only a few square meters in the village in the city. His daughter suffers from leukemia and has been matched with a suitable kidney donor, and is just waiting to raise enough money for the operation.

Wang Xiao as Lao Kou

There is also Xiaomin, who delivers takeout with her children, and stationmaster Zhu, who often teases Gao Zhilei with the term "urban elite", and so on.

These delivery riders with vivid images and different circumstances all have their own difficulties in life or future expectations, and the life profiles they show beyond their professional identities also allow us to see the parts that are closely related to all ordinary people. After all, who doesn’t want their relatives and friends to be free from illness and stay healthy, and who doesn’t want to work hard to make money and live a good life down to earth?

In the end, Dashan successfully proposed to his girlfriend and started a new life with her own hands and efforts. Dahei set out again after a short rest. Laokou accompanied his daughter to complete the operation smoothly. The protection and companionship were warm and firm.

They wear the uniforms of delivery riders and helmets, and shuttle to every corner of the city. But behind their ordinary jobs, they are the real us in life. Everyone is firmly the master of their own life in their own way. The simple smiles and unyielding perseverance on their faces seem to tell us: no matter what situation we are in, each of us can do it if we work hard.

These delivery riders, speaking with accents from all over the world, not only reveal the reality in which each individual lives, but also reflect the diverse and all-encompassing social aspects and grassroots appearances.

As a work with a serious realistic background, the genre positioning of "Reverse Life" is not a comedy, but Xu Zheng still cleverly used his familiar comedy techniques to enhance the watchability of the film as a realistic subject.

Jia Bing as Stationmaster Zhu

Including the contrast setting mentioned earlier, Station Master Zhu, played by Jia Bing, used to be a security guard. He shouted the slogan to "stop" the delivery rider. The camera turned and Station Master Zhu asked the rider to "rush forward" when facing the security guard.

Many of the jokes in the film also make people smile. For example, when "Old Stingy" insisted on leaving the hospital to go home, he smiled bitterly and complained that he "didn't perform well" because he only received 15,000 yuan in compensation.

There is also the easter egg of Ma Dong guest-starring as an interviewer. Not only does it surprise the audience who have watched Xu Zheng's other variety shows, it is also a humorous use of Ma Dong's image as a boss.

Ma Dong

Ultimately, the use of these methods is not to weaken the seriousness of the film, but to establish an emotional tone that is based on reality and faces life with a smile, giving the audience a sense of optimism.

Last year’s summer season has shown that movies that best understand the current collective emotions and speak to what the public is thinking will definitely trigger the strongest resonance and enthusiasm for watching movies.

"Reverse Life" is such a movie that hits the hearts and minds of ordinary people today. In 2024, each of us will inevitably face certain difficulties and pressures. Even if they are not exactly the same as Gao Zhilei's, the sense of frustration and the urgency to move forward are completely the same.

"Reverse Life"

In this regard, the film provides warm comfort and encouragement, which can give us the courage to go against the current.

All realistic films ultimately end up forming a closed loop with a certain reality.