Jia Ling’s YOLO (2024) A Tale of Struggle, Perseverance, and Hope

YOLO isn’t just about weight loss or attempting to motivate you to start a journey of one. This is beyond all that. This movie would have different interpretations depending on your understanding of Chinese culture. For some, at level surface this could be seen as something that is just another rom-com motivational film. But for some, this is also a criticism towards a societal problem in China and also offers empowerment towards those who currently undergo difficulties in their life.

YOLO is directed by Jia Ling, a Chinese comedian who also plays the protagonist in this film. She plays as Du Leying, a 30 something woman who rejects pretty much societal pressures and in Chinese culture known as Tang Ping or laying flat.

She is still living with her parents and would only spend her day sleeping. Things changed when she eventually got into conflict with her family members. Once she decided to move out on her own, she got to meet a man named Hao Kun, a boxing coach from the gym next to Leying’s new workplace. From their encounter, although Leying was at first taken advantage of by Hao Kun, she eventually picked up working out.

One day, because of sexual harassment at her workplace, she agrees to star at a job show where her cousin was one of the producers. It went bad because the crowd was booing at her and she eventually got an anxiety attack and fell down. As she pretended to faint, she overheard her cousin talking bad about her and telling her friend that they are not related at all. She eventually goes home, decided to kill herself but it fails. She survived. She cried until the next morning and eventually found the same pamphlet from the gym next door where it said, “ Have you ever won once?” From there, she went through a journey to change her life as it was her turning point and decided to start training for boxing.

This movie garnered sensation not only because of the whole story but because the director and actress, Jia Ling, didn’t use any suit to fake being overweight. For the role, she gained up to 126 kg and lost 50kg within a year. She lays out all of her meal plan over SCMP how YOLO actress-director shed more than 50kg through a 2-week diet cycle and intermittent fasting. From the movie, she showed how hard she worked hard for it to lose all the weight for her role.

The character of Du Leying itself can be pretty relatable for someone who undergoes a dark moment in their life. It was like a love letter from Jia Ling that you can do it too, everything takes time and there is still hope. Perhaps your kind of battle is different and this movie wants to remind you that if you feel like you have never won once, try your hardest to win the battle with yourself. Afterall, it really isn’t about you against the culture, the people around you, but sometimes it really is just against yourself and your own mind.

In my opinion, this film was pretty okay. I got interested in Jia Ling’s story and how she lost weight. I sympathize with her journey because I am going through the same thing. Working out is hard and everything about attempting to lose weight is hard. It’s not just about the scale but also the war with our minds. This is where consistency pays off and truly, she reminded us about having just a single goal that makes us persevere even during tough exercise.

Perhaps, I would really recommend this film to anyone looking for a motivational film but also an easy-film to watch. This film will help you remember that we need a goal to live, whatever that is and if you’re isolating yourself, go outside and socialize. Perhaps you will find something new, a new goal and even new beginnings.