(may contain spoilers)
Douban rating: 7.1
Director: Damo Peng, Fei Yan
Starring: Shen Teng, Li Ma, Rina Sa
Douban Comments: “The movie seems funny on the surface, but it’s actually a ‘horror’ story. In the end, the second son didn’t go to a top university like Tsinghua University or Peking University; instead, he went to a sports school. But then, he gets distracted by small things, like picking up a bottle and smiling foolishly. As a result, he doesn’t succeed in running either, and his future is pretty much ruined. The audience laughs while watching, but if you think deeply, it’s actually quite disturbing. Even at the end, when the main couple’s first two children are ruined, they still want to have another child. It’s a scene that gives you chills.”
“This movie isn’t like ‘Hindi Medium’; it’s more like a parenting version of ‘The Truman Show’. While good comedies may have elements of tragedy, this one feels like it has a horror feel at its heart. The pacing isn’t great, with the first two-thirds dragging a bit. The humor is also lacking, and some jokes feel awkwardly written.”
“Making you endure hardship and then claiming it’s for your own good – this is how Chinese parents show love for their children. I wish those who glorify suffering would experience it every day. Ma Jiye’s situation is truly tragic; I can already imagine his future. Even though he got into a sports university, he missed the prime age for training; so becoming a professional athlete is nearly impossible. In the end, he’ll probably have no choice but to go back and inherit his family’s business, though it’s a painful decision.”
“The film touches on a very serious topic and does so accurately, with a mix of sarcasm and irony that reveals underlying frustration and heaviness. Shen Teng’s long-winded lecture at the end perfectly captures what ‘dad energy’ is – a mix of extreme arrogance and deep insecurity, a fear of failure paired with an absolute refusal to admit it, embodying the frustrating yet pitiful traits common in East Asian parents. The film reflects too many real-life situations and people, which made me burst into tears. Ma Jiye’s final reaction was spot on – hesitant to speak up to his father, yet still managing to give his mother one last gentle explanation. It’s heartbreaking.”
“If the film hadn’t ended with the mother looking sympathetic, the father making slick excuses and refusing to admit fault, the boy getting into his dream sports university with a score of 705 the next year, and even throwing in a little brother or sister – it might actually have deserved five stars.
These days, everyone says that comedy is rooted in tragedy, and this film really did tap into the biggest tragedy in China: the countless lives of children being ruined across the country. I felt physically and emotionally uncomfortable, even traumatized at times while watching.
So to me, it doesn’t matter if the film doesn’t understand what it’s like to be poor. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t understand the lives of the rich either. But if, by the end, it refuses to directly acknowledge that what happened was wrong – if the father doesn’t openly apologize – then no. That’s unacceptable. That’s utterly vile.
On this point, I believe there is no room for compromise. Not with things like: ‘The dad talks sweetly but never admits fault, and tries to apologize with a casual ‘Are you coming home for dinner?’’; or ‘He ends up getting into the university he dreamed of anyway’; or ‘They give him a little brother or sister as some kind of consolation’.”
