Jackpot! | Winners, Losers, Marathon Runners

Hello Peliplaters!

That's right, I'm here, once again, to champion "low-rated" films. I relish this endeavor; the thrill is akin to challenging a professor who's misjudged my thesis. We often believe only films scoring above 7/10 are worthy of acclaim—an illusion born of societal hierarchies. In my view, those that fall within the five to seven range are interesting movies. It suggests certain "components" of the film—actors, themes, visuals, or narrative techniques—haven't resonated with the masses. But this doesn't necessarily mean the story fails to mirror our lives accurately.

Watching a narrative unfold is a process, while ratings are the outcome of a crude summation of our myriad reactions. When a friend tells us a story, our initial response would often be: "Wow, I didn't know such things existed in this world!"

I wish Peliplat would let us rate films using emojis instead of simplistic numerical scores. Imagine the introductory page of a film showing "xx% of viewers found this film 😲", or "xx% of viewers lit a 🕯️ for this film", or even "xx% of viewers 🍻 with this film". Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Now, shall we dive into a cinematic journey of Jackpot!? As always, I'll avoid spoilers and share the film's essence through my personal reflections.

After watching the film, I looked up its reviews. Viewers who gave it low ratings often cited "it wasn't funny," while those who granted high ratings praised its hilariousness. Such polarized opinions stem from differing senses of humor.

When we're indifferent to someone, we see him as a number or should I say, a soulless moving mass organic matter. The story of Jackpot! might have been challenging to conceive, as rarely can anyone empathize with lottery winners.

The very concept of luck implies a psychological imbalance. While we often use phrases like "beginner's luck" or "dumb luck" to describe unexpected successes of initially underestimated competitors, we also console ourselves by deeming our situation as a consequence of "bad luck" when our efforts go unrewarded. We find solace in attributing seemingly unfair situations to luck. When the least probable outcomes happen, we develop thoughts like, "He must be very lucky to be born into such a family," or "He must be very fortunate to have found someone willing to marry him."

Upon hearing that someone has just won the lottery, if we're content with our circumstances, we might dismiss it with a casual "How lucky!" But if we're struggling with life, we might wonder, "Why couldn't it be me?"

Given today's global economic downturn, it's genuinely challenging to invest so much emotional energy in a story about winning the lottery.

In the film, the female protagonist Katie has recently lost her mother. The world no longer holds anything for her to cherish. She dreams of becoming an actress, but if not for her mother's dying wish for her to go to Los Angeles, she might have abandoned this aspiration. Unlike the audience, Katie is unaware of the rule that lottery winners will be hunted by the citizens of Los Angeles. The prize money is substantial—enough for her to finance her own film—but it's not worth the risk. In essence, her life is not hers alone; if she were to be killed, her mother's last wish would perish with her.

She must live on, not just for herself, but for her mother's sake as well.

The challenge is that too many people view her as a walking ATM. Consequently, when she encounters Noel, a mercenary who offers to be her personal bodyguard and genuinely wants to protect her, she struggles to establish trust him. Even signing a contract with him fails to instill a sense of safety in her. Her persistent sense of insecurity leaves Noel with no opportunity to earn her trust because, when faced with distrust, it's always easier to walk away than to continue proving one's trustworthiness.

Indeed, Jackpot! isn't a particularly profound film; its storyline is foolish and absurd. Yet, beneath its seemingly ridiculous narrative, it ambitiously explores how we perceive our own luck and that of others.

Why is this significant? We often associate winning and losing with luck and extend this concept to life itself. Though we may not openly admit it, this perspective subconsciously turns life into a gamble. We become opportunistic and rely on a result-oriented mentality to make any decision. Relationships morph into investments, and even our hobbies are judged by their returns and cost-effectiveness. This mindset breeds caution, for in gambling, there are only winners and losers. Our moral compass prevents us from harming others, but in our desire to avoid being losers, we inadvertently allow others to become losers and distance ourselves from them as much as possible. Gradually, we lose our ability to empathize with the vulnerable, as empathy requires us to see things from their perspective. But how could we dare to step into the shoes of a loser, even if only momentarily, when we live so guardedly?

Our society shouldn't function this way. I understand that the current economic downturn has left everyone feeling disheartened, but deep down, we all know our society can do better than this.

Katie is no John Wick; she doesn't even stand out in her acting. It's precisely this ordinariness that makes her a faithful portrayal of an average person chasing her dreams—before proving herself, she appears utterly run-of-the-mill. Yet it's this ordinary Katie who constantly receives help from strangers, ranging from Noel's protection to her livestream audience's moral support through sending likes.

Since so many people are after Katie's life, no amount of help would be useful. What's truly crucial is her unwavering refusal to give up.

From another angle, Katie's escape journey resembles a marathon. In a marathon, we not only strive to complete the course ourselves, but also hope others can do so too. We persevere through others' encouragement, and our determination inspires others in turn. There are no losers or winners in a marathon; everyone gains something, as long as they stick it out.

In these times of widespread despondency, digging in one's heels is indeed a commendable life philosophy.