Introduction
I don’t usually watch slice-of-life genre movies, but somehow I saw a clip of Big World on the internet. When I looked up the cast, I was surprised that the protagonist is played by Jackson Yee and I didn’t recognize him at all. I assume that is a good thing, at least in the visual effects (makeup) department.
I chose the article title and the featured image above because the native title translates to “Little Me”. However significant the protagonist feels, he wants to find a place in the big world as he looks up happily to the blue sky with the grey skyscrapers in the background. Instead of “out-of-reach”, not being able to reach his goal in life, he “reaches out”, and seeks to establish communication with someone (outside his family, in society), with the aim of offering or obtaining assistance or cooperation.
Movie Info
Movie title: Big World (Native title: 小小的我 )
Alternative title: Little Me, Xiao Xiao De Wo
Genres: Life, Drama, Family
Released: 2 November, 2024
Duration: 2 hours 11 minutes
Director: Lina Yang ( 楊荔納 )
Screenwriter: You Xiao Ying ( 游晓颖 )
AWARDS :
Tokyo International Film Festival 2024 - Audience Award: Big World
Weibo Awards Ceremony 2025 - Pioneering Expressive Filmmaker of the Year: You Xiao Ying
Allywood Film Critics Association Awards 2025 - Golden Elm Award: Best Actor Jackson Yee
Where to watch: Netflix (started 20 March, 2025)
Trailer:
Synopsis
Liu Chun He, who suffers from cerebral palsy, bravely breaks through the shackles of his body and mind. While helping his grandmother realize her dream of performing on stage, he also strives to find the coordinates of his own life. After a transformation in midsummer, he finally embarks on a new journey. (Source: MyDramaList)
Characters
Main Characters
Jackson Yee ( 易烊千玺 ) as Liu Chun He
A 20-year-old young man with cerebral palsy. Although the disability binds his body and faces huge physical challenges, he has never given up hope for life, has a tenacious heart, does not bow to fate, and strives to break through the shackles of body and mind. After experiencing a midsummer transformation, while trying to realize his dreams for his grandmother, Liu Chun He also tries to repair his relationship with his mother, gradually finds the direction of his life, and embarks on a new journey.
Lin Xiao Jie ( 林晓杰 ) as Chen Su Qun
Liu Chun He’s grandmother, is tall and quirky. She has curly hair and loves to wear colorful floral dresses. An old lady who is young at heart. She has a tense relationship with her daughter and has been taking care of her grandson, encouraging him to bravely pursue a better life, and finally realizes her dream stage with her grandson’s efforts.
Supporting Characters
Jiang Qin Qin ( 蒋勤勤 ) as Chen Lu
Liu Chun He’s mother. An intellectual woman with delicate facial features and wears glasses. Her relationship with her mother is tense. Chen Lu is also helpless about her son’s situation. As Liu Chun He strives to pursue his dreams, the mother-son relationship gradually changes.
Zhou Yu Tong ( 周雨彤 ) as Ya Ya
A girl with a life story hidden in her heart, she looks young and pretty, full of vitality with short hair and casual clothes. Yaya is kind and sincere, able to overcome prejudice and estrangement, and makes friends with Liu Chun He. At the same time, there is also a realistic and entangled side in her character. She is also quite carefree, lively, and extroverted.
Review
Story
Since the story is focused on Liu Chun He, this is his slice-of-life story that flows gently and quietly around his daily life of eating, drinking, walking, and daily chores, as well as special events in his life such as learning and playing drums, making friends with and falling for Yaya. Some watchers criticized that there is no real plot and it has an open ending. But I beg to differ because, in the slice-of-life genre, life moves on.
Below is the spoiler of the ending
The same with Chun He, his life moves on after Yaya’s departure. He’s admitted into the university, he will live in the school’s dormitory. In the ending scene, he tells his grandma to “let me walk the rest of my path my way” and advises her to go traveling and have some fun. She has been the closest to him, not only as a grandmother but also as a confidante. It’s time to temporarily let her grandson go. His mother will no longer occupied solely for him as she has another child. As for Chun He, his life will also be occupied by studying Chinese Literature, involving in school activities, making friends, and becoming a poet and a teacher.
Scriptwriting
The scriptwriter You Xiao Ying got the idea from her mother, who told her about a lady in her choir group who often brought her grandson with Down Syndrome to the choir activities. The lady has taken care of her grandson for ten years. You Xiao Ying imagined what was it like for grandparents who take care of their disabled grandchildren. After discussing with a fellow screenwriter who then told Director Lina Yang, the idea of making a movie about a disabled character was born.
Character
Liu Chun He
People like Liu Chun He turns out that he, like every 20-year-old young man, has dreams, desires, and hopes to live with dignity. Even if Chun He only reveals a little bit of sensitive thoughts and emotions, everything is done powerfully, including his most vulnerable moment, the moment of life towards death, and every moment of seeking dignity.
He has a habit of sleeping in a suitcase, that symbolizes like a cicada cocoon that protects oneself, also holding a full size skeleton frame symbolizes the molt of self-rebirth.
The start of Chun He’s interaction with society is when he is pulled to make up the numbers of the musicians of Grandma’s choir group. Originally he doesn’t want to play drums, but when his Grandma begs him to play drums, he feels positive feedback of being needed, thus gaining happiness. Also, when many elderly in the choir group don’t know how to use smartphones, he helps them solve their problems with their smartphones one by one. Mutual help and coexistence for a better community life are crucial for people with disability like Chun He.
Grandma Chen and Mother Chen
In my opinion, Grandma Chen represents the caregivers who treat their beloved disabled family members as normal and as independent as possible. With the full support of Grandma Chen, the world seems a less terrible place for Chun He, as she faces all prejudice with him, always encouraging his dreams. However, people like Grandma Chen are rare. On the contrary, and more common ones, are caregivers who are represented by Mother Chen who is overprotective of their children to shield them from perceived dangers and challenges, believing they are acting in their best interest. In fact, his own mother sees Chun He as a powerless man who will achieve nothing. This can hinder their physical and psychological development, independence, and self-esteem.
Yaya
Some watchers thought that the character Yaya exists to show that disabled people also need love and sex. Although that is also the case, her character has a wider representation. Yaya is unemployed after graduating from university. At first, she approaches Chun He out of curiosity, having studied Anthropology as her major. She has an interest in exploring the psychology and life of special groups. During the exploration with Chun He, she realizes that he has developed romantic feelings toward her, so she finally retreats from his life. Yaya’s appearance makes Chun He feel he’s noticed and admired by someone with bright clothing and a smile, which became a rare bright color in his somber life.
Acting
Jackson Yee’s performance as Liu Chun He is just spectacular and worth awards for his acting. He didn’t only act but was able to transfer a disabled person’s motivation, needs, and struggles. Yee showed the ups and downs of Chun He’s mood in every moment, while communicating with the audience. Yee seamlessly controlled the technicality of Chun He’s physical condition, daily life activities, emotional bursts, and disabled personality traits while balancing them all accurately.
A lot of observation and rehearsals to achieve this level. According to the interviews with Jackson Yee, he hid in his room alone half a month before the official filming started, preparing for the role status, including studying cerebral palsy, practicing the limb movements and speaking methods in front of the mirror, and also went to the Rehabilitation Center to learn the daily life and movements of patients with cerebral palsy, communicate with real patients with cerebral palsy, and feel their mental journey.
Yee tried to figure out the role of patients with cerebral palsy, including abnormal muscle tone, poor posture control, poor motor coordination, unclear pronunciation, and difficulty in expression. It happened that before getting the script, he had three ulcers in his mouth. To avoid the wound touching his tongue, he had to go to the side of his head when talking to his friends at that time, and he also slowly found the character’s status from this experience ( Source: Elle Taiwan).
Cinematography
The creative concept of light and shadow processing is excellent. Several night scenes are so beautiful, real but dreamy. The camera is always surrounded by a sense of tranquility.
Visual Effects
Although Jackson Yee successfully acted out abnormal muscle tone, poor posture control, and poor motor coordination, there is some additional makeup done to emphasize the abnormal physique of someone with cerebral palsy.
Movie Set
The film was shot entirely in Chengdu, featuring the beautiful scenery of Xindu Guihu Park (as seen above), the golden masks in the Jinsha Ruins Museum, the coffee shops on Yulin East Road, and the high-rise buildings in Tianfu New District. The film was also shot in Chengxiang School in Qingbaijiang District, Shuijingfang Community in Jinjiang District, Xiaojiahe Street in the High-tech Zone, and Shuangliu Sports Park (Source: Baidu).
OST
The main theme song is “Cheers, Friends” ( 干杯，朋友 ). The 1977 song was written and composed by Yang Hai Chao ( 杨海潮 ) and sung by Tian Zhen ( 田震 ). In the same year, the song won the silver medal in the popular music category of the 5th China Music Television Competition (Source: Baidu). In the calm confession and slight sadness, one can hear the reluctance to part with the friend who is about to leave. This song accompanies the last scene when Chun He and Grandma stop to admire the beautiful scenery on the way to the university he’ll attend, his future.
Conclusion
The beauty of Big World comes precisely from inspiring moments when the big world tries to suffocate the “little me” Liu Chun He. Through his resistance, other possibilities come to life. After all, the movie sensitively impacts the audience with the message of how to go beyond despite huge challenges.
Liu Chun He turns around and proudly looks at the intersection behind him after he crosses it by himself. He also turns around to acknowledge the silent support his grandma gives, as he knows she secretly follows him.
