Director: Xu Zheng
A software engineer's sudden layoff pushes him out of the office and into the kitchen, and Upstream turns that unlikely swap into a sharp, funny look at what a paycheck really costs a family.
What is Upstream about?
Gao Zhilei has spent years chasing a stable career, but a corporate restructuring leaves him jobless just as his household's expenses keep climbing. Rather than scramble for another office job right away, he takes over the domestic side of family life while his wife becomes the primary earner, and Upstream follows the friction, embarrassment, and small victories that come with flipping the roles he assumed were fixed. Along the way he tries gig work, food delivery, and other stopgaps that force him to see his city — and his own value — from street level rather than a cubicle. The story builds toward him rebuilding a sense of purpose that doesn't depend on his old title.
Cast & crew
Xu Zheng, who also directs, plays Gao Zhilei, with Xin Zhilei as his wife navigating the couple's reversed roles. Wang Xiao, Jia Bing, and Feng Bing appear in supporting parts that widen the film's view of Shanghai's gig economy.
Context & significance
Xu Zheng is best known internationally for comedies with a social edge, and Upstream continues that streak by using one family's income crisis to comment on China's competitive white-collar job market and the precarious delivery-driver economy beneath it. The film was a notable box-office release in China in 2024, part of a run of local dramas examining middle-class anxiety about layoffs and job security. Its tone shifts between comic and sober, using Gao's misadventures as a way into a bigger conversation about dignity and work.
Where & how to watch
Upstream is available on K-Time with a Farsi dub and Persian subtitles, letting Persian-speaking audiences follow Gao's story without relying on the original Mandarin. Watching only requires signing in with a free K-Time account, and the film's page can be browsed beforehand without logging in. K-Time's Farsi-language interface makes the whole experience easy to navigate for diaspora viewers.