Du Lala: A model for the times?

Du Lala: A model for the times?

Warning: This post contains plot spoilers!

There are numerous ways to describe the emerging Chinese middle class: The white-collared, the property owning; some of these descriptions are even gender specific the OL, for example, or the Office Lady.

This class make up the personnel of Go Lala Go ( ), directed by Xu Jinglei ( ), the director-actress lauded for her multi-talented abilities. She has chosen to address this particular blossoming sector of the demographic, and her film is a mixture of self-searching, love and what makes a good career move.

The bestselling book (on which the film is based) describes the professional ascent of a girl who works for a global company, DB. She is often cited as being quick and clever, knowing how to get promotions. She also gives out tips on how to please superiors. The book has since then become a bit of a handbook for aspiring Office Ladys all across China.

The film, however, concentrates on a plot of love between Lala (played by Xu) and the Director of Sales at DB, Wang Wei. Through the film there is an underlying message, hints Xu, which is that women who are confident can achieve their dreams, including those in the Chinese corporate world.

There are of course a lot of flaws with this logic, as many of the details of exactly why Lala is promoted through hard work, or through cunning, are not questioned thoroughly. It seemed just meant to be. Some simplified arguments by movie-goers contend that she slept her way to the top, but that explanation would surely be belittling her talents as an OL

Lala s superior, Rose, played by the thin and distinctive Hong Kong actress Karen Mok, is a much darker and thought-provoking character. Rose is a high-ranking employee in the company, and eventually, towards the end of the film she is crowned the Director of Public Relations, a title that she has been yearning desperately for. When she does achieve the title, the disappointment hits: a downward spiral of doubt about whether this will make her happy and whether this is the point of her life.

When the dark horse, Rose, quits in order to go traveling, Wang Wei, Lala s boyfriend, decides to quit as well after Lala mistakenly breaks up with him because she spotted Wang and Rose in an innocent embrace at a party.

Critics of the film have warned that the essence of the book has been faded out for a steamy on-screen romance between one of Taiwan s most popular male stars (played by Stanley Huang ) and Xu Jinglei, who only wears skimpy, branded, tight clothes, and everything in the film is laced with overt sexual tension. But, Lala is still a professional throughout the film, with her career forming her core. When Lala was shown on-screen dithering about whether she wanted both the relationship and her highly successful job it was clear that, even as the film ended, she wasn t able to choose.

So the scene plays out like this: Lala is in her middle-class kitchen with her boyfriend, the rich and handsome Wang Wei he says that if he gets laid off during this round of personnel reshuffle, he would take the opportunity to travel around the globe. He looks longingly into her eyes and asks, Would you go with me? Lala wonders about this but doesn t give a definitive answer.

In the end, after their first break-up, Wang Wei escapes to Thailand, where they had first became romantically involved. After two years and lots of searching there appears to be no Internet or social networking in this movie (ironically) Lala, who is now HR Director, a job that Rose once held, takes her own vacation to the same spot where Wang Wei now runs a tourism business.

Once Wang Wei finds his corporate DB ID tag on a wishing tree, one he left back in Beijing s office, he realizes that Lala is near. The camera pans over their faces as they turn and spot each other.

The rest of the film is set to music, and Wang Wei, Lala are crusing on a speed boat, Lala in colorful and stylish summer clothing, but the film doesn t tell you where it ends: do they end up going home together to start a family, and does she quit to be a housewife?

These are left hanging as the cinema screen plays out-takes. The throbbing question that remains, in the end, is: Does Lala know what she likes and dislikes? Will she go the way of Rose, who freed herself of her corporate environment and went away from it? Or will Lala be tempted with sweeter and sweeter promotions? What is love good for?

In a way, the loss at what to do, how to fare best in the world of the Office (including what to wear) has become a serious concern for the newborn white collars of the country. In reflection of this widespread concern, the topic has become the subject of books and films, and will continue to linger in the cultural landscape of this development-obsessed metropolis.