Love List

Core of the story: A ritual of redemption through revisiting love in the name of a breakup.

Absurd Contract Origins
Couple Ma Tianze (Oho Ou) and Xia Mo (Zeng Mengxue), in the throes of infatuation, set up a “breakup list” during their romance. They agree that if they ever break up, they must complete every item on the list before ending their relationship. The tasks are highly dramatic: berating each other over a luxurious dinner while undressing, tattooing each other’s names, destroying precious mementos, and more. Ostensibly a “breakup barrier,” the list actually reinforces their commitment—“the harder it is to complete, the harder it is to break up.”

Emotional Collapse Under Realism
Three years later, career and personal growth strain their relationship. Ma Tianze impulsively starts a business and faces financial troubles, while Xia Mo ascends from assistant to workplace elite. Values clash intensifies friction. As their relationship nears collapse, they attempt to reignite it through executing the list’s absurd tasks. Sweet memories and present-day rifts intertwine, exposing the cruel truth of “loving each other but unable to walk the same path.”

A Trio of Urban Love Stories
The film deepens its themes with secondary couples:

Wu Wang (Zhou You) & Fang Yingying (Cheng Xiao): Use biting banter to mask dependence, facing life’s crossroads together.

Mi Le (Xu Mengjie) & Zhao Siyuan (Xiao Kaizhong): Embody a mature, steady love that contrasts with the protagonists’ intense struggles.

Production Highlights: The Evolution of Tian Yusheng’s Love Universe

From Breakup to Metaphor of Growth
Compared to the Ex-File series—but focused on post-breakup healing—this film turns the “list” into an emotional diagnostic tool. Director Xia Yu explains: “Carrying out the tasks is a ‘breakup cooling-off period,’ forcing both to face core relationship conflicts.” For instance, the “tattoo each other’s names” task symbolizes the pain and the illusory cost of inscribing someone into your life.

City Space as Emotional Symbolism

Guangzhou landmarks: The Pearl River nightscape witnesses their early love; villages in the city reflect entrepreneurial struggles; a chance pass at the metro station hints at diverging life trajectories.

Homage to Comrades: Almost a Love Story: Ma Tianze rides a bike with Xia Mo to recreate a classic scene, but they get lost due to a broken navigation system—implying that nostalgic romance can't override real-world confusion.

Musical Narrative as a Duet
Theme song “Divorce in the Republic of Ghana” references a foreign law requiring couples to plant a tree together to divorce—mirroring the ritual sensibility of the list.
The final song “I’m Happy” invites audience sing-alongs, transforming regret into release.

Deep Themes: Love and Reality’s Misaligned Coexistence

The Fatal Growth Gap
Tian Yusheng highlights the core contradiction: “Among same-age couples, men’s maturity often lags behind women’s.” Scenes like Ma Tianze pretending to go to work after losing his job, or faking premium liquor to save face show male dignity anxieties; Xia Mo’s career rise accelerates their relational misalignment. This reflects a Douban review: “In the face of reality, love is often sacrificed on the altar of growth.”

The Breakdown List as Emotional Anatomy
The tasks function as intimacy stress tests: “destroying mementos” examines obsession, “undressing publicly” provokes societal norms. When the couple completes the list but still breaks up, it underscores that ritual alone cannot bridge fundamental differences.

Social Reception and Controversy

Polarizing Empathy and Critique
Young audiences applaud: “The list tasks are like correction sheets, helping me avoid relationship pitfalls,” and see it as “a date-night favorite.” Some critics question: “Is dramatic effect given up at the expense of logic?”—arguing, for instance, that the protagonist’s breakup motives aren’t sufficiently developed.

Tian Yusheng’s Authorial Signature: Continuation & Breakthrough
Maintains the Ex-File series’ sharp dialogue (e.g., “Love fully, breakup clearly”), but focuses more on growth pains. Oho Ou, in his first romantic lead, sheds his tough-guy persona to show vulnerability. Zeng Mengxue’s crying scenes are praised as “heart-rending yet restrained.”

Memorable Lines
Xia Mo: “The subway in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou can’t hold ambition; the bed back home can’t restrain drive—but can it still hold our love?”
Ma Tianze: “Each item we tick off leaves an empty space in our hearts. It turns out this isn’t a breakup ritual—it’s a countdown to heartbreak.”

Love List cuts through with absurdity and sheaths with regret, dissecting modern youth’s survival in the squeeze between love and reality. Its brutal gaze on “misaligned growth,” against the backdrop of graduation season, affirms it as one of 2025’s most talked-about Chinese romantic indie films.