The majority of Chinese independent films we see in the West seem to deal with the lower echelons of society, usually with the issues the poor or people in remote areas in the country face. As such, films like “Drifted in Life” which focuses on an extended family whose members belong to various levels of society, financially, is like a breath of fresh air, additionally because it also centers on the significance of money in the current society. Let us take a close look however.
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The movie begins in a hospital, where the grandfather of a family is found, after having a bathhouse accident that has left his spine severed. The rather insensitive doctors essentially ask the family to take him back home, since nothing can be done about his condition. Right about that time, Keyu, one of the grandsons, arrives, despite the fact that his parents did not even call him, not wishing to disrupt him from his work. A bit later on, the family has already started planning the funeral, with the exception of his wife, who does not want to abandon her husband, essentially putting the whole family under intense financial strain in order to cover the hospital costs.
The rest of the family members deal with the rather tense situation in different ways, also having to do with their particular situation. Kebo, Keyu’s brother, is enraged with the bathhouse owner, frequently visiting the establishment asking for compensation, with his ‘adversary’ repeatedly stating that his is a small business and cannot afford that kind of money. At the same time, his girlfriend is pregnant, adding even more strain. Keyu’s company is in shambles, and his higher ups propose yet another restructure, something that gives him second thoughts about his future there. Meanwhile, his wife, Siyuan, is having other issues in her media company, having to lay off people repeatedly and dealing with a new artist who challenges her on a number of levels. Their daughter, Weiwei, who has just been elected class leader, takes her role dangerously seriously, while the cycle of violence continues with Keyu and Kebo’s father getting into an altercation with another butcher in the market. All the while the situation of the patriarch of the family looms above everyone.
Shen Lianlian directs a movie that aims to show the issues Chinese people face nowadays, focusing on a number of them among the various levels of local society, which is actually a comment by itself. To do so, she focuses on an extended family, which gives her the opportunity to look at these issues from various perspectives. The first and most obvious one regards the health system, with the attitude of the doctors and nurses being indicative, even if Shen partially exonerates them later on.
The corporate world, and its dog-eat-dog, cutthroat premises also take a significant part of the story through Kebo and Siyuen, a couple who do seem to have enough money to be part of the higher middle class, but have to face constant angst and a set of difficult choices essentially constantly. That their daughter overacts in school is a direct consequence of their actions and their neglect, which brings another comment, on how families in China frequently consider work (and essentially money-making, above everything else), with the initial hospital scene also moving in the same path. Furthermore, if one would look at the whole picture here, it becomes evident that everything revolves around money, both the problems and their solution, cementing the particular comment.
That despite the differences in financial abilities, essentially all three families (the father’s and the two brothers’) eventually are led into violence, is another comment here, essentially on how violence is created when the pressure, both from society and tradition (as in the fact that everyone has to listen to the grandmother when she decides she wants to keep paying for a dying grandfather) piles up. A solution appears here also, but in the end, Shen’s narrative emerges as rather pessimistic, with the final scenes highlighting the fact in their melancholic approach.
Apart from context, the movie thrives on its technical aspect. DP Liu Qinglin’s framing is exquisite, with almost every single frame being meticulously constructed and presented, both in terms of the placement of the characters and the placement of the camera. That this applies equally to the long shots, the mid shots and the close ups, is a testament to an overall impressive work. Du Guangwei’s editing results in a relatively fast pace that allows the whole story to unfold in the economical 78 minutes of the movie, while also allowing for the many characters and episodes to be presented without rushing, despite their number.
Yikai Liu as Keyu highlights his angst and the way he tries to hide it convincingly, with the same applying to Qing Zhang who plays Siyuan. Zhipeng Wang as Kebo presents an opposite character, who actually overreacts on his feelings with equal realism. Overall, the acting is on a a high level, with the performances being characterized by realism and a very appealing sense of measure.
Although not particularly known, “Drifted in Life” is a gem of a film, one that manages to present a series of layered comments in indie fashion, without tiring its viewer even for a minute.
