Creative Statement
When Dying Well Meets Living On is a realist comedy. Of its three main characters, one has given up on striving, one is eager to die, and one needs to escape a harmful family. All three have been toyed with by fate, yet an absurd situation brings them together, and each finds a sense of belonging in the others. With that sense of belonging they are no longer alone; they gain a tie and a little warmth, and with it the courage to keep living. Many people now talk about "lying flat". In the post-pandemic period and an economic downturn, many are exhausted and see little hope for the future, and relentless pep talk and motivational messages tend to provoke resentment. We want to tell a story that is somewhat bitter but also warm, to laugh and cry with the audience, and to watch the characters slowly become braver in each other's company, so that viewers may find some healing of their own.
Synopsis
Old Yang is a paraplegic old man who has long wanted to end his life, but he has never managed it because his conscientious young caregiver, Da Fangzi, keeps a close watch on him. Then he meets Zhao Ma, one of the "Sanhe gods", young drifters who have given up on striving. Old Yang talks Zhao Ma into posing as his godson and helping him die, promising that Zhao Ma will inherit his entire estate. Old Yang expects it to be simple, but Zhao Ma proves far less reliable than he imagined: anything handed to Zhao Ma turns into a mess, and Da Fangzi keeps getting in the way. After several failed attempts, the more Old Yang puts himself through, the healthier he becomes. As the days pass, the three learn that each of them carries a painful past. Zhao Ma and Old Yang, a fake father and son, develop a real bond, and Zhao Ma and Da Fangzi grow fond of each other. The three form a kind of "family". Zhao Ma, already hesitant, can no longer bring himself to go through with it, and even starts helping Da Fangzi stop Old Yang. But it does not last. Zhao Ma discovers that Old Yang has been fooling him all along and that the will is worthless, while Da Fangzi learns that Zhao Ma has been helping Old Yang end his life and is deeply disappointed in him. The three go their separate ways. Only after parting do they realize how much they care about one another. To mend this broken "family" and to free Old Yang from what has been weighing on him, Zhao Ma has to pull himself together...
