"Life Against the Current", a film about delivery boys, sparked heated controversy as soon as it was released.

Most of the negative reviews that suddenly emerged online questioned Xu Zheng's lack of understanding of the real work of food delivery, and his evasive storytelling, without directing the conflict towardsThe culprit in their eyes: the algorithm and the capital behind the algorithm.

in other words:With a net worth of billions, does Xu Zheng have the qualifications and courage to look suffering in the face?

He became famous after starring in "Splendid Pig Bajie" and successfully married the beautiful Tao Hong;

Later, he got inspiration from Lost on Journey and became famous as a director with Lost in Thailand, which grossed 1.269 billion yuan.

His subsequent works such as "Lost in Hong Kong" and "Lost in Russia", and his production and starring in "Dying to Survive" and "Lost in Thailand" have all triggered a wave of movie-watching. He has now become the most sought-after commercial director in China.

Such a rich man is going to direct and star in a movie about low-income takeaway boys. Is his creation sincere? And is his display and expression worthy of our trust?

With doubts, I watched "Reverse Life" carefully and meticulously, and then chose to believe Xu Zheng, because I read the sincerity in the whole work.

A. Efforts to get close to the grassroots

Judging from the algorithm dilemma and the knight's situation interpreted above, Xu Zheng at least did not stand on the side of capital. He truly recorded the contempt and harm of the algorithm system to human individuals. Whether it is high-level workplaces or low-level takeaways, algorithms and systems are gradually eroding human freedom and nobility.

Xu Zheng presented all of this calmly and made many hints. As a film director, he only needed to put "resistance to bad algorithms" on the screen. However, some viewers still felt unsatisfied and felt that the injustice of the platform was not fully exposed.

In fact, Xu Zheng has fully glorified the grassroots workers without revealing any contempt or disrespect.

Almost all the low-level workers that Gao Zhilei met at the takeaway station had positive experiences or unexpected changes caused by fate, such asFor love (Dashan), against aging (Lao Zhang), against illness (Lao Kou), in a car accident (Dahei), raising a child to make a living (Xiaomin)And so on. Gao Zhilei himself also fell down the social ladder because of the P2P explosion and being fired in middle age.

This is naturally a beautified version of the bottom. Those who are truly in trouble and have fallen to the bottom often have many other reasons that cannot be expressed or are not so glorious, in addition to these reasons that can be "spoken out".

It can be seen that Xu Zheng tried to stand with the grassroots. The fact he pointed out was the indifference of the algorithm, the ruthlessness of the platform (Yu Hewei at the end); and the mutual contempt and harm of the grassroots under the shadow of the algorithm. Although the film finally gave a bright ending, the difficulties of the guests, the ridicule of the security guards, and the conflicts of the deliverymen have already fully demonstrated these real predicaments and the sinister nature of human beings.

B. The core theme of the film

Anyone who has watched "Retrograde Life" will find that it is not a satire, or even a comedy.

Xu Zheng presents all the conflicts in a simple and straightforward way.Gao Zhilei (played by Xu Zheng)Xu Zheng does not whitewash or joke about the midlife crisis of food delivery platforms, the algorithm dilemma of food delivery platforms, and the class truth of modern cities. He presents them frankly, with the refinement, rendering and conflict focus required by drama. He also points out solutions on several levels, which may be ignored by critics but can provide some comfort to those who are in tears.

In my opinion, "Reverse Life" has a relatively neat script structure. Starting from Gao Zhilei's dismissal and the collapse of his family's finances, Bu Bu Wei Yingzhan presents the real situation and self-conflict at three levels: midlife crisis, algorithm dilemma and class difference.

Algorithm confrontation, family support, and active labor, becoming the redemption path for the middle-aged man Gao Zhilei, and also the core theme of the film full of traditional Confucian striving for success.

The first is to use algorithm to fight algorithm.

This is thanks to Gao Zhilei's previous identity as a programmer. After becoming a deliveryman, he integrated all kinds of information needed for delivery and wrote his own "Lulutong" applet to promote mutual help among grassroots deliverymen and use information exchange to counter the optimization of platform algorithms.

This is a kind of basic wisdom that seems cramped and cunning, and is easily ridiculed and criticized by "Internet intellectuals", but it has to be said that it is a temporary and wise way of dealing with difficult lives.

We can certainly criticize platforms and resist algorithms, but when our own voice and right to survive are uncertain, it seems that individuals, especially middle-aged men, should first consider how to make a living.

A brave man can die heroically for his ideals; and a brave middle-aged man is willing to live on and endure humiliation for his ideals and happiness.

The second is the emotional support of family members.

Family love is the strongest emotional element in the film. Facing financial difficulties and a broken life, Gao Zhilei did not collapse, thanks to the support of his family.

EmpatheticWife Xiao Ni (played by Xin Zhilei)She took the brunt of the situation and became Gao Zhilei's most important partner. Xin Zhilei washed away the glitz in "Flowering", with sexy thick lips and no makeup on her face, interpreting this kind and loyal city woman with plain acting skills.

When the family fell into a financial crisis, she never left her husband and accompanied him wholeheartedly, supporting the crumbling family together.

She gladly accepted her husband's job as a delivery man; she also started a new class to enroll students, taught children to play drums, and worked in a foot massage parlor; she finally decided to sell the big house and moved her whole family to the old neighborhood, and she had no complaints.

In addition to economic support, Xiao Ni also provided a strong emotional bond. Whenever Gao Zhilei was emotionally unstable, angry, anxious, hesitant, or depressed, she would always provide timely encouragement, restraint, and comfort; whenever the family relationship reached a deadlock, she would immediately step in to mediate, and then immediately fade out of sight when the emotions calmed down.

She is like a perfect assistant to Gao Zhilei, but it is precisely because she is too perfect and normal that the character loses its charm and it is difficult to have a deeper presentation.

Another family member who strongly supported Gao Zhilei was his father. This old man had a passionate and hardworking life and had high expectations for his son.

When he learned that his son had resigned and the family had lost its source of income, he was first furious, and then suffered a cerebral infarction and paralysis due to exhaustion.

In order to set an example for his middle-aged son, he also took positive actions, faced the troubles brought by the disease with a passionate and high-spirited attitude towards life, and finally stood up again, showing his strong will and fighting spirit.

With the emotional support of his family, Gao Zhilei effectively took on family responsibilities, accepted his job as a delivery man, and eventually stabilized his family with his own skills and income - although he moved to a cheaper house.

At the core there is positive action.

In the second half of the film, Xu Zheng began to "add value" to the story, which is the admonition in traditional mainstream thought:Hard work makes you rich。

The reality that cannot be changed, the family responsibilities that are difficult to get rid of, the fragmentation and the mess, the Confucian uprightness will naturally not guide the charactersTowards tanking and nothingness (Xiao Wu, A Cloud in the Sky); We need to provide more positive emotional values, that is, to fight back, to go all out, and to fight against all the setbacks and hardships in life with individual hard work.

It cannot be said to have much significance, but it is a rare bright spot in the difficult life.

Gao Zhilei's colleagues in the film, from Stationmaster Zhu, Dahei, Dashan, Lao Zhang, Xiaomin, to the more bleak Lao Kou, are all facing their own life pressures, but none of them are depressed, but are running towards their ideals with all their strength. From the mid-film paragraphs to the short subtitles, the work style of the delivery riders is shown in a fast-cut way. They work hard, struggle, and are positive and optimistic at the same time. Their enthusiasm to bravely face reality is moving and respectful.

The climax of the film is when Gao Zhilei and the top riders of the takeaway station compete for the top delivery champion of the month, accompanied by Xiao Ni's drums. The ending is naturally Gao Zhilei's victory. The drum beats and the passionate scenes of the galloping are old-fashioned and a little deliberate.(Run Lola Run), can still ignite the flame in the viewer's heart for a moment.

C. Target of critical reflection

There are also many "reflective critics" among the critics, and their attacks on Xu Zheng and the film mainly focus on two points: rich people perform the suffering of the poor to earn their money; Xu Zheng avoids the main issue and shows the suffering of the lower class, but ignores the original sin of algorithms and capital.

First target: rich and poor.

Are all the people involved in the film industry rich? Let’s not discuss this for now.

Filmmaking is a collective activity that inevitably requires a large amount of financial investment, especially for commercial films that are publicly released. The investment can easily be tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. These funds are naturally several orders of magnitude larger than personal wealth.

But this is a collective commercial investment, and everyone is responsible for their own profits and losses. How can we compare and weigh it with personal wealth? In previous reports, there are many cases of people selling their belongings and mortgaging their houses to make movies (Guo Fan, Wu Jing). What is the point of pitting these creators (who are also workers) against ordinary people?

Moreover, if the rich are not qualified to portray the suffering of the poor, then who will portray the suffering of the poor? The poor themselves cannot make a movie. If the suffering of the lower classes is not presented, how can it gain attention? How can it gain attention?

If you don’t film about suffering, people will say it’s whitewashing and out of touch with reality;

Filming the suffering, saying it is consuming the lower class, only destroys but does not build;

They filmed the suffering and proposed solutions, and pointed the finger directly at algorithms and capital, saying that rich people do not understand the suffering of the lower classes and are not qualified to present it.

Apart from reflecting and questioning, these people probably can't do anything else.

The second target: the original sin of capital.

This is a more complicated issue that cannot be explained clearly in a movie. In today's modern society, capital has become an indispensable presence, and private enterprises and liquid capital are also indispensable parts of the market economy. However, our system cannot indulge capital to do whatever it wants like in Western countries. We must impose restrictions rather than drive it away.

So,How to restrict? What method? What scope? What are the rules and bottom lines?

This is naturally not a logic that Xu Zheng could articulate, as neither his division of responsibilities nor his social identity seem to make clear the obligations in this area;

Of course, is there anything constructive in standing on the weak side like critics and resisting everything like the Boxers, other than satisfying moral self-satisfaction?

Then, let the system, society, and art each return to their proper place. Art can certainly be concerned about reality, look at suffering calmly, and propose solutions, but it does not need to bear the responsibility of clarifying or even solving the issue.

Present suffering, show difficulties, point out problems, and then provide comfort and encouragement to move forward positively. Such film works deserve our recognition and praise.