Chen Sicheng, a Chinese film director, producer, and screenwriter, is behind some of China’s biggest commercial successes, from the hugely popular Detective Chinatown films to thrillers such as Lost in the Stars and Sheep Without a Shepherd. His films often focus on crime, mystery and moral choices, keeping audiences guessing until the very end. That is why Being Towards Death comes as such a surprise.

The film represents a new direction for Chen; instead of murder investigations and suspense, he focuses on a subject that affects everyone: death. More specifically, it looks at how people choose to live when they know their time is limited. As his first comedy-drama, the film shows a different side of the filmmaker. After screening in competition at the Beijing International Film Festival, it opened across China on 1 May and in the UK on 5 June. Being Towards Death takes a topic many people find difficult to talk about and explores it with care.

Xiaobing, played by Jiang Long, after losing his family, surviving a suicide attempt, and finding himself buried in debt, reaches a point where life seems to have very little left to offer. Desperate for work, he accepts a job in Cancer Ward No. 10, where his task is simple on paper: provide emotional support to terminally ill patients. The patients he meets refuse to spend their remaining time waiting quietly for the inevitable as they have dreams left to chase and places left to see. The setting may sound heartbreaking, and at times it certainly is. Hospice wards and palliative care units are places most people associate with grief and loss; they are often the final stop before goodbye. Yet Being Towards Death asks a different question. What if the last chapter of life could also contain joy?

The patients in Ward No. 10 are stubborn, funny, unpredictable, and occasionally reckless. They argue, joke, make unreasonable requests, and challenge those around them. Through them, Xiaobing slowly rediscovers something he thought he had lost: a reason to keep going. The people preparing for death end up teaching him how to live.

As the story develops, Cancer Ward No. 10 slowly becomes more like a small community than a hospital. The humour comes from how people react to each other; it comes from patients staying true to themselves, even as they face the end of life. The film eventually takes to the road when an ambulance is transformed into a vehicle carrying dreams rather than patients.

The story turns into a road movie, a comedy and a look at life as the characters set out on a journey that is as unpredictable as it is emotional. It’s also messy and often funny, but underneath it all, we learn that every life has moments worth holding on to.

The entire cast delivers! Jiang Long carries the film and is joined by Qi Xi, Yang Chaoyue, Wang Zichuan, Zhang Chi, Cao Bingkun, Huang Yi, and Ye Quanxi. Veteran actor Ni Dahong and beloved comedy performer Cai Ming make special appearances, while celebrated filmmakers Jia Zhangke and Guan Hu also appear in cameo roles. Together, they all bring a natural feel to the film, keeping it steady even when the story turns more lighthearted or unexpected.

For Chen Sicheng, this film is a change from the kind of work he is known for. It moves away from suspense and crime stories and focuses more on people’s feelings. I truly appreciate the fact that the director treats death as part of life and that knowing time is limited makes every moment more meaningful.

Being Towards Death is a moving film about living until the end. Even in the hardest moments, people still look for happiness, and when everything else is gone, what often stays is a final moment of laughter.

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Written by Maggie Gogler

Featured image © Beijing As One Pictures/Courtesy of Trinity CineAsia

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