I had to watch this movie for one of my classes at university - Chinese Culture - and I'm supposed to write a report on it. So yeah, me watching this movie was originally due to a school assignment but I immediately got excited once I saw the cast - I LOVE Bai Yu and when I saw him along with Deng Chao and our resident cutie Sun Xilun I knew I was in for a ride.
And what a ride!
If you're wondering whether you should watch this movie or not then the answer's YES - it's definitely worth watching.


STORY
While the story isn't the best built or the most complex out there it will make your insides churn with all the twists and turns it takes. You will laugh, you will cry, you will clap and you will trash certain characters. But most of all, you will end up feeling connected to them, something not all movies are able to do. The movie is focused on two specific timelines - past and present - mostly focusing on the past to build the narrative. Due to the past being a junction of flashbacks to justify the present, there are some unresolved issues that we end up forgetting about so there's some random information that is given to you and isn't properly clarified. That is the only reason why I won't rate the story an 8 although I have to admit that's probably the fairest rating.

ACTING
WOW. That's my exact thought when I think about the acting. I often see people bashing Chinese movies for this and for that and honestly these people are missing out on a bunch of great acting. Deng Chao is a well known name in China, being super popular due to his acting - and that's deserved. I haven't seen his other works and knew him mostly from variety shows but this movie made me want to watch his other works. His acting just left me mesmerized. I believed wholeheartedly in the character he built and he made the movie a hundred times better. We don't get as much Bai Yu as I initially expected but that's completely fine because the amount we have of him is enough for him to steal the show. He's an amazing actor (have y'all seen Guardian???? such a great actor) and he does a great job portraying the given character. I could make a whole essay about his acting and how overwhelmed it made me feel but I won't ahaha. I just have to add that the Deng Chao x Bai Yu combination of father and son made me cry rivers and I'm still not recovered. Now, our cutie Sun Xilun. Xilun was only 14 when this aired so he was probably 13 when they recorded it and he still managed to be one of the greatest actors in this movie. He plays the younger version of Ma Fei (while Bai Yu plays the older version) and he did a wonderful job! When I saw him on screen I legit yelled "CHENG LING" due to his role in Word Of Honor (probably my current favorite Chinese drama) because I was super excited to see him and he did not disappoint. The support characters also had great actors behind them and overall I think this was a wonderfully acted movie.
Just want to add that Deng Chao did an amazing job directing the movie!! The directing is fantastic!

MUSIC
The music is a great part on why this movie made me super emotional. The music just helps emphasize certain emotions and feelings and it is used to the best of it's ability in Looking Up.

Would definitely re-watch whenever I wanna go on an emotional journey or just want to review this masterpiece.