Xinmin Art Review丨Nanni: The fast food war tempers people
2024-08-19
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After working as the "order king" for a month and earning 15,000 yuan in salary, Gao Zhilei, a food delivery man, gave up his new house, which required a monthly loan repayment of 15,000 yuan. The movie "Reverse Life" ends with Gao Zhilei's family of five eating dinner at a small open-air table on the street, and expressing satisfaction that "the big house has finally been replaced by a small house." This choice is naturally wise. You can't guarantee that you will be the "order king" every month. Xiao Ni, the wife played by Xin Zhilei, smiled and said that this was like the small house she lived in when she was a child, and she liked it. What is different from her childhood is that at this moment, the family is holding disposable plastic takeout boxes.
Picking up, receiving. Road, house number. Timeout, grabbing orders. Bad reviews, rewards... What the delivery riders compete for is the speed of the electric bikes. In the film, the "Foodie Delivery Station" where Gao Zhilei works rates the delivery riders in five levels, and the core is also speed. - Whoever gets the most orders in the same amount of time means that his efficiency for each order is higher than others.
Even if you are a living map and a fast rider; even if you are an AI who has studied "Road to Road", some things are bound to be unexpected. Irregular house numbers, variations in new and old roads, negligence of the consignee. Gao Zhilei and Yang Dashan, the last two in the competition for "Single King", after Yang Dashan climbed to the 18th floor, all three iron doors were locked. Gao Zhilei's delivery place is a deafening dance hall. There is still a sense of purpose in finding the owner in the noise, and the three iron doors that cannot be opened can only be the wronged doors of "lost time".
If you go fast, others have to go fast too. The most fatal thing for deliverymen is the sudden oncoming car. Although only one person in "Reverse Life" has a broken leg, the huge cars that knocked people down several times are really frightening.
Iron cars, hard riders, fighting methods, but delivering the softest food. This contrast is the beauty of the times. Is it meaningful to complain that people don't cook anymore, eat and drink carelessly, and eat fast food all their lives? It doesn't make sense. The high speed of the food chain helps to complete the efficiency of the profession. Just like no matter how good a painter is now, he can't paint the landscape of the ancients. The days of leisurely and open-minded are gone. At the end of the film, the company boss played by Yu Hewei is also eating the takeaway delivered by the "foodie", which is a sarcastic stroke. Spicy, fresh, fragrant and sweet, solid, liquid and semi-solid, there is a chef behind the city. In order to meet the needs of the efficient food chain, hot takeaways and deliverymen came into being. The fast food war gave birth to speedsters and magic soldiers. The farming process of "you reap what you sow, and you reap what you sow" has been rewritten by industrialization.
If you only regard "Reverse Life" as an inspirational film, that's too simple. In the film's scenes about food delivery technology, you clearly feel that the food delivery industry is just a symbol of hardship in the modern industry. By tacitly accepting the heaviness of changing careers, you have accepted the poem of rationality.
"Labor is glorious." Gao Zhilei's old father finally stopped being angry about his 45-year-old son, who graduated from Tongji University, delivering food. "One day, when the dividends of the times don't hit you, what should you do?" Xu Zheng's acting is as natural and three-dimensional as ever. He makes you feel that this Gao Zhilei can be you or me. As a person who is responsible for his family and relatives, what should you do if the established career track suddenly goes wrong? "Don't blame others, don't pity yourself." In the American movie "Moneyball", a talented student who graduated from Harvard University with a major in finance counts the scores for the baseball team members and holds his iron rice bowl firmly.
The involution of involution is blooming in the world. Involution forces creativity and heroes emerge. The most touching thing in "Reverse Life" is the love and joy in the involution. The competitive and friendly relationship between the deliverymen flashes in various life scenes and details, peaceful, real and infectious. Accidents keep happening, and beautiful human nature keeps appearing. Care for the injured and take care of the weak. They have no office politics.
For your beautiful life, you always have to work hard. The way you are used to may not be the best and ultimate. Going against the flow brings you new scenery and new partners. The house changes from big to small, and the job changes from white-collar to blue-collar, but there will also be healing in the retrograde life. Gao Zhilei's diabetes was cured without treatment, which is the director's kind wish and also a metaphor. (Nanni)
