The movie "Sorrow Against the River" focuses on a young couple, Qiming and Yiyao, who grow up in an alley in Shanghai. They become entangled in the schoolyard, get involved in school bullying through rumors and gossip, and ultimately end up in tragedy the youthful story of four middle school students. The world of the play is a closed world, seen through the window of the adolescent world, a world of opposites, as well as a world of strangeness and indifference. Whether it's the desperation of Yi Yao's mother, the snobbery of Qi Ming's mother, or the indifference of their classmates, these teenagers don't feel any understanding, help or love from the adult world.
There were some moments that I found touching, when Yi Yao was looking for money and accidentally realized that her mother had helped her save up for her tuition. The second was when her mom held Yi Yao's hand. She was reluctant to give Yi Yao the money to buy her school uniform, she was harsh on her and didn't care enough about her. For the sake of Yi Yao and her life, she works a job that is looked down upon. After realizing that Yi Yao is sick, she drags her to get treatment. There isn't a mother in the world who doesn't love her child, and Yi Yao's mother loves Yi Yao. Qi Ming sees Yi Yao watering her classmates with a hose and accuses her. He accuses her of being a good friend whose lack of understanding hurts more.
In the movie, the movie tells us to stand up in the face of adversity instead of bowing our heads and suffering silently, thus inspiring the aggressors to stand up and say no to the bullies when they are bullied by others. Yi Yao was seriously hurt by the school bully. He can't say he doesn't care about other people's opinions, obviously as the person he trusts the most, he can't care. Perhaps if he had relaxed and not cared about other people's opinions so that he wouldn't have been hurt, not the outcome wouldn't have been so tragic, but who can really control their emotions in life? If we can really control our emotions, then when we are faced with doubt and denial, we have the courage to face everything.
And he also tells us that sometimes it's really important not to say bad things about a person unconditionally. Trust a stranger for no reason and tell the truth because we talk to strangers. There is no accountability. Not being able to express ourselves without fear of losing because of something we say is not desirable. So even though Grief Against the Current may be a sad story in a way, and maybe it reminds us of the pain of YiYao, it also reminds us to stay sane and not give up on your life so easily, even if you're too sad to do so.