China's latest blockbuster casts rare, harsh light on gig economy

By Casey Hall and Kevin Krolicki

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - One of the biggest movies to hit China's cinemas this summer tackles several of its biggest economic pain points: an uncertain job market, downward mobility and the hardscrabble life of millions working gig jobs.

"Upstream" tells the story of a middle-aged programmer who is laid off, shut out of white-collar jobs because of his age and pushed into the perilous food-delivery gig economy to try to keep his family afloat.

Directed by and starring Xu Zheng, best known for comic roles, "Upstream" showcases the low-paid scooter drivers who rush packages through the final mile for China's popular on-demand food platforms led by Meituan.

As of Tuesday, almost 5 million had watched it, according to movie-ticketing platform Maoyan.

The movie, which led China's box office on its release Friday, lands at a time when uncertainty in a deflationary economy and real-life pressures on delivery drivers have both been trending concerns.

Its focus on economic issues contrasts with the typical genres of Chinese blockbusters over the years, which are usually war films, historical dramas or romances.

At least 10 million delivery drivers work for Meituan and its largest rival, Alibaba-owned Ele.me. Drivers have complained of long hours and payment per delivery that is often less than the equivalent of $1.

In "Upstream," competition between the drivers and platforms is depicted as unrelenting, leaving no time for breaks and creating incentives to take dangerous shortcuts in days that can stretch 14 hours or longer.

"It's a rather realistic depiction of the psyche of many Chinese people today," said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of a Hong Kong-based marketing consultancy, who said the current negativity is a contrast to the mood of a decade ago.

"There was this strong underlying belief that tomorrow is going to be better than today, the economy is going to be better, opportunities are going to be better," said Dudarenok, who has authored books on Chinese business and consumer trends. "Today that belief is not there."

While the companies the drivers work for in "Upstream" are never explicitly identified, they wear canary-yellow helmets and uniforms that closely resemble Meituan's branding.

A Meituan spokesman said the company was not involved in the movie and offered no comment on its depiction of the industry when asked by Reuters.

A film subsidiary of Alibaba is listed among the 17 production companies behind "Upstream." Drivers in the light-blue uniforms of Alibaba's Ele.me service appear but are outside the main action and also not explicitly identified by the company they work for. Alibaba did not immediately comment.

CRASHES AND CLASHES

Xu's character, Gao Zhilei, and two other drivers are hit by vehicles as they race to avoid late-delivery penalties and keep up with robotic orders from an app piped through their mobile phones.

And Gao struggles to understand his loss of status. Stopped by a security guard for trying to enter a mall through the main entrance, he protests that he used to shop there until recently. "That was before," the guard says, pointing him to the service entrance.

Clashes between rushing drivers and security guards are common on China's streets. On Monday, police in Hangzhou said they were investigating an incident where a driver jumped a barrier to make a delivery at an office complex and ended up kneeling beside the security guard who apprehended him. Reports of his treatment sparked sharp online reaction.

Xu did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his production company. He said at the premiere he had tried to "convey hope and warmth" by allowing audiences to "see what a day in the life of a delivery worker is like."

Some online reviews praised "Upstream" for addressing a social issue of a kind not often highlighted by recent films in China, which are subject to censorship. "It's quite bold to tackle this subject," one viewer said on Douban, a Chinese online movie database that is similar to IMDb.

"This shows hard work alone won't necessarily lead to a better life," another wrote. "Avoiding marriage, not having children and not buying a house might be the only way to achieve it."

Others were unimpressed by a happy ending, which shows Gao heroically sprinting to make enough deliveries to cover overdue mortgage payments. "In order to make the movie more 'entertaining' some authenticity has been sacrificed," said a review on social media platform Xiahongshu.

Delivery drivers interviewed by Reuters in Shanghai said they had no plans to pay to see the movie in theatres but might stream the film when it's free online.

"It's not an industry for a normal person," said a 37-year-old driver who asked to be identified only by his surname, Lin. "You have to race against time. Sometimes in the last minute or two before an order is overdue, you are racing with your life."

(Reporting by Casey Hall in Shanghai and Kevin Krolicki in Beijing, additional reporting by Josh Arslan and Joe Cash in Beijing, Nicoco Chan and Xihao Jiang in Shanghai; Editing by Sam Holmes)