Successor

I was unexpectedly invited by my wife to see the latest Chinese comedy, and I settled in for what turned out to be quite a lengthy experience!

Ma Chenggang, the master of self-deprecating humor, presents The Truman Show-Chinese style! It seems he and directors Da-Mo Peng and Fei Yan anticipated that we would check our brains at the door and accept a child-abuse as funny. The notion of "It's just a comedy, so don't take it too seriously" falls flat when an audience grappling with life's hardships seeks a brief escape from their burdens for two hours. The film showcases a fair amount of creative shortcomings, yet sadly, viewers seem more captivated by the 4K visuals than by any meaningful narrative structure. The story revolves around two hours of parents deceiving while raising their child in a Monitored Open Prison, culminating in a rather clichéd ending centered on the father's love and duty. When all critique and introspection are suppressed, and the idea that "wealth equates to paternal worth" permeates the film, we must ponder how to confront our realities once we leave the theater.

One striking element is the alarming nature of Chinese-style education, where parents feel compelled to impose rigorous training on their children to mold them into achievers. The philosophy of "Only through hardship can one become a master" has already claimed too many victims. What about those who are less fortunate? Is it realistic to expect everyone to thrive as predators in a competitive society? Can you truly ensure that you won't be the prey?

The portrayal of the mother is reduced to little more than a womb, lacking any significant influence on the storyline. Li Ma's performance as Chunlan was stylish, yet her character had no impact on the plot's progression. Ultimately, this film feels like a commercial comedy creation with no real social message value.

I went to a Sunday morning screening and was the only gringo among twenty Asians. This movie just charmed me from the outset. Ma Jiye is a billionaire's son, but his parents have set up an alternate universe for him with seemingly unlimited funds. Teng Shen and Li Ma are absolutely perfect in these roles. Only by overcoming the most incredible adversity can MJ grow up into a truly great man capable of running a giant corporation as the Successor. Ma Chenggang and Chunlan have engineered quite the environment. Ma Jiye is being raised by them, acting as a struggling couple, in a pathetic slum with a supposedly crippled grandmother in tow. Rina Sa was terrific as granny. Secret entrances and compartments reveal a sleek elevator, an esteemed chef and all of Ma Chenggang's employees. His English teachers were pretty cool, including a hot Russian babe. The whole conceit is so endearing and exciting to watch unfold. Despite knowing no Mandarin or Chinese, the subtitles were enough to keep me howling with laughter. He collects cans and bottles for family cash. He gets relentlessly bullied for being dirt poor. He runs three miles a day to get to school, then three back. This crazy routine impresses a track coach, who comes to their house to recruit him. But his parents fake a foot injury to keep him from becoming a jock. He's going to take the critical college entrance exam and get accepted into the best business school in the country if it kills them. The first born son inherits nothing in Chinese culture and here is painted as a loser idiot. But will MJ catch onto the family's elaborate scam and upset the apple cart? You'll never guess what's on the exam answer sheet that he submits to his proctor. The film is rather drawn out at 2:13 for a comedy. But unless you're dying to hit the bathroom, it's a nice long ride. There are also very good action scenes. Congratulations to directors Da-Mo Peng and Fei Yan.

Passable as a skit, but fails as a proper story. The premise is something I fantasized about in second grade - so cringe-inducing I can barely stand to read it, let alone watch it adapted into film. This movie exists in the worst limbo: neither authentic nor absurdist enough, neither riotous nor profound. At the very least, it should have articulated its core message clearly like Hello Mr. Billionaire did. Instead, audiences will chuckle mindlessly and forget everything afterward. Such wasted potential - it could have delivered a poignant truth: that parenting, whether too lax or too strict, inevitably becomes mutual destruction.

Education is always a hot topic to talk about in China, and Successor is produced to satirize those parents who crazily want their children to be elite. The purpose of the film wasn't bad, but the plot merely seems to be a mix of good films such as The Truman Show and Hindi Medium. What's more, the act and the scene aren't outstanding. There indeed occurs some funny plot, but that's not special at all. Another drawback is the bad ending. The director doesn't explore the deep emotion of Ma Jiye when he knows the truth that he was cheated by his parents for 18 years, and thus makes it hard for the audience to get what the director want to express. In conclusion, Successor is a quite normal movie but it succeed in China's ticket house thanks to the lack of good film in Chinese market.

I went in only expecting some mild humor, but I got a hilarious, dramatic, emotional, and thought-provoking movie. The English subtitles and humor translate over well to a western audience. The actor Teng Shen does a great job playing the father, pulling off a wide range of emotions with charisma.

Some cultural context:

* College entrance exams are a HUGE thing in China

* Jack Ma is a famous billionaire

* Education and Filial piety are also important in China. Strict parenting is more common in China than in the US.

(Don't form stereotypes based on the above, please. They are generalizations)