The Shanghai-produced movie " Retrograde Life " will be released nationwide on August 9, and has recently started screening. The film is directed by Xu Zheng and stars Xu Zheng and Xin Zhilei. It tells the story of Gao Zhilei, a middle-aged man who was laid off and unemployed and became a delivery boy by chance, switching tracks and starting anew. The
movie focuses on the group of delivery workers and shows the various aspects of life of ordinary people who work hard. However, some viewers expressed confusion about famous actors playing delivery workers: why should they watch "rich people spend their time playing poor people"? On August 7, many Shanghai film critics had an early taste of this Shanghai-produced film. While actively affirming the film's realistic tone, they also recognized the pioneering significance of the film's subject matter. As Liu Haibo, president of the Shanghai Film Critics Society and professor at the Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University, said, "Actors have to play a variety of roles and a variety of themes. When it comes to artistic creation, we cannot have a condescending attitude and maintain an attitude towards the bottom. Paying attention to, understanding and caring about life is the duty of art workers. "
"Retrograde Life"
In the movie "Retrograde Life", the middle-aged man Gao Zhilei (played by Xu Zheng) is "layoffed" by a large factory. He found another way out in life and became a delivery driver by chance. After starting over, he continued to gain the power to "run" through the support of the delivery riders. Director Xu Zheng once shared the original intention of creating the film: "The food delivery industry is the most familiar to everyone, and at the same time the most unfamiliar." "Retrograde Life" restores many real people and real details in life. Xu Zheng specially selected the filming location to The real takeout station next door allows the whole crew to immersively observe and understand the life and working conditions of the takeaways 24 hours a day. In the early stage of filming, the crew visited takeaway stations in 16 districts of Shanghai, conducted in-depth interviews with many real people and incorporated them into the creation of the film. The film was shot throughout the city of Shanghai. Through the lens, you can also see a real Shanghai city without filters.
"Retrograde Life" started shooting in January this year. While exploring new themes, it also has new thinking about new employment forms. "According to survey statistics, there are 530 million food delivery platform users in China, and there are more than 8 million riders on a single platform." "Retrograde Life" producer Yue Yang said that the film chose to focus on the group of food delivery guys because there are tens of millions of people behind them. , hundreds of millions of Chinese families. In interviews, the creative team found that many delivery boys choose this career because they feel that they can complete a small goal in a short period of time, such as going home to open a small shop or helping their family fulfill a wish; The freedom to engage in work is also the result of two-way choices in the market.
"Retrograde Life"
"Retrograde Life"
"Retrograde Life"
"Delivery workers are the most common people around us, but few people can understand their lives in depth." In Liu Haibo's view, this is the first film It is a film that shows the life of a delivery person in a positive and in-depth manner. Through the perspective of the delivery person, the film shows the physical and mental experiences caused by "overtime" and "bad reviews", allowing the audience to reflect on whether they have had undue complaints when ordering takeout, and calls for There can be more respect, care and understanding in society.
As Gao Zhilei sets off on his electric bicycle, the relationship between the deliverymen who laugh at life in the movie unfolds. When Gao Zhilei stood at a loss on the retrograde road of life, Yang Dashan (played by Wu Jiakai) was the first person to lend a helping hand to him. Not only did he lead him to find an opportunity to continue to support his family, but he also used himself to " The experience of "running" helped Gao Zhilei avoid many detours. The mending old man (played by Wang Xiao) not only used tape to repair the electric car that carries the hope of life, but also used his deep and simple love to safely support the small family behind him time and time again. . Dahei (played by Feng Bing), the "single king" at the top of the list, takes at least 70 jobs every day and runs for more than 16 hours. This is due to his silent familiarity with urban routes and his efforts to move closer to the life he wants. .
At the end of the film, Gao Zhilei relied on his professional skills to develop software that optimizes order delivery routes, bringing work convenience to himself and other delivery workers. The easter egg revealed that his software has received attention, and perhaps there will be a greater counterattack in life in the future. "The protagonist of the movie did not choose to give up in the face of adversity. I hope more ordinary people can feel that as long as you don't leave, opportunities will always belong to those who are prepared. I hope everyone can see professional equality in the movie, no matter what you choose No matter what kind of life you choose, it should be the right choice for you.
"Retrograde Life"
"Retrograde Life"
The creator of the film said that "Retrograde Life" will be dedicated to "every one of us who works hard for life." Shanghai film critics were moved by the attitude of positive and hard-working life conveyed in the movie. "The so-called true heroism is to be able to love life after understanding the hardships of life. Our films have developed to this day, whether they are commercial films or artistic films, they must show more of the ups and downs of the people at the bottom. What they think, Their hard-working and striving state is very necessary and important in today's society," said Li Jianqiang, vice president of the China Film Critics Society.
"Retrograde Life"
"Themes that focus on the lives of the lower class are particularly lacking in Chinese films at present." Huang Wangli, a professor at the Film School of Shanghai Theater Academy, believes that in recent years, the new generation of Chinese directors such as Xu Zheng and Wen Muye have actively paid attention to the current social reality and created Works such as " I am not the god of medicine " and "Retrograde Life" do not place too much emphasis on genre film creation and dazzling skills, but return to the essence of movies focusing on people's livelihood, continuing the tradition of left-wing movies focusing on the bottom and the realist aesthetic system. Jiang Xiangxiang, a post-2000 film critic who studied film media at Columbia University, believes that the unconventional image processing in the second half of the film and the attitude of professional equality conveyed are of interest to young audiences. “Perhaps The life in "Retrograde Life" is still far away for us, but it can take us to see another kind of real life. "
