Yesterday, I went to see the movie "The Determination to Escape" with my family, and it was truly hard to describe. The movie tells the story of a high school girl in the 1980s who wanted to take the college entrance examination, but due to her poor family background, her father forced her to drop out of school and work in a factory to support the family, while also bearing the living expenses of her younger brother, and so on.
When she finally got married, she thought she was starting a sweet life. She and her husband were in a love marriage, but the woman's parents were not optimistic about it. However, the determined female lead secretly registered her marriage with the man behind her family's back.
After getting married, the woman quickly became pregnant and moved to Zhengzhou to live in the welfare housing provided by her husband's workplace, the Water Resources Bureau. The husband promised to help her find a job, but he was unsuccessful. However, this did not affect their relationship; they initially lived very sweetly together and soon had a daughter.
After having a child, it seemed that everything began to change. The husband's care and attention shifted to the child, and in front of outsiders, he deliberately emphasized that the female lead was a housewife who stayed at home to take care of the child.
Thus, the female lead became a housewife for the sake of the child, while also taking care of her husband. The husband, considering himself the pillar of the family, began to boss the female lead around to assert his position in the family. Although the female lead felt unhappy inside, she still endured it.
Later, the husband's poor relatives came to the city, and he generously hosted them, instructing his wife to prepare good meals. To save face for her husband, the female lead cooked ten dishes and busied herself, while her husband and the poor relatives enjoyed themselves eating and drinking.
When they had a bit too much to drink, they started to talk nonsense, and the poor relatives insisted that the female lead drink, saying that only then could she be considered a Henan daughter-in-law. The female lead did not like drinking and tried to decline, saying she couldn't drink. This made the husband feel embarrassed, and fearing that his wife would lose face, he slammed the table. After a moment of hesitation, the woman took a small sip, and then was asked to drink another cup, which she had to comply with. Only then did the poor relatives let her go, and the husband felt very proud.
After the poor relatives left, the husband began to complain about why his wife had to cook ten dishes, saying it was too wasteful. The female lead replied, "Isn't this to give you face?"
This state of life continued until their daughter grew up and got married. The female lead had hardly ever been to the suburbs of Zhengzhou. One time, she saw a self-driving tour by the roadside and suddenly felt a longing, secretly deciding that she must escape.
However, despite having such thoughts in her heart, it was very difficult to put them into action. Her daughter gave birth to twins, directly handing two granddaughters to her. It felt as if the female lead's legs were bound, and she had to temporarily give up her plan to escape.
She originally thought that her efforts would earn her others' appreciation, but unexpectedly, her husband still mocked her, saying that her purpose in taking care of her granddaughters was not pure and that she had ulterior motives. This angered the female lead, and in her grief and anger, she insisted that her husband clarify, even picking up scissors. The husband was so frightened that he hurriedly stepped back, but at that moment, the female lead stabbed herself with the scissors.
The female lead was sent to the hospital, where it was confirmed that she was suffering from depression. After being prescribed a lot of medication, she was discharged. However, her husband continued to speak harshly, saying she was just pretending and that taking so much medication was a waste of money.
The female lead had long been accustomed to such slander; she had become numb. Ever since marrying this man, it seemed she had not experienced a single day of freedom.
The female lead was determined to learn to drive; she wanted to go on a self-driving tour and leave this suffocating home. After all, she was already fifty-five years old, and learning to drive was not easy. She faced ridicule from her instructors, but she did not get discouraged. Instead, she practiced even harder, and after several months of hard work, she finally obtained her driver's license.
After getting her driver's license, the female lead thought about buying a car, but the down payment made her start to worry. In the end, she decided to ask her younger brother for money, as she had worked for him for three years for free, and he had promised to pay her.
However, when she asked her younger brother for her wages, he mocked her from a moral high ground, saying she was disregarding their sibling relationship by asking him for money. The female lead firmly stated that she was only asking for her wages, not borrowing money.
Seeing that the emotional pressure of family ties could not stop his sister from asking for money, the younger brother began to cry poor, saying his business was struggling and he couldn't spare any money.
This made the female lead feel very sad and desperate. Clearly, they had agreed on this before, and now he was going back on his word. She regretted even more the youth she had sacrificed for others; it all felt so unworthy.
At this critical moment, the female lead's daughter saw her mother's difficulties and discussed with her husband, deciding to help her mother by lending her ten thousand yuan so she could buy a car.
The female lead finally bought the car she desired and was about to go on a self-driving tour when unfortunate events struck again. Her daughter lost her job and needed to go out to look for work, so she had to ask her mother to take care of the children. Understanding her daughter's predicament, the female lead agreed.
However, after her daughter found a job, when the female lead wanted to propose going out again, her daughter panicked and said that she had just found a job and needed to perform well to avoid being fired. She suggested waiting until she was stable before discussing leaving.
The female lead was very unhappy inside and initially refused, telling her daughter that her father could help take care of the children. But the daughter knew that her father was unreliable and rejected the suggestion. The female lead's husband also felt that his wife was being unreasonable and began to blame her.
Ultimately, after thinking for a moment, the female lead agreed. However, when she was promoted to property manager, her husband also received a promotion and higher commissions. Even her husband won a table tennis medal in an amateur competition, and they were all enjoying themselves, while the female lead was still busy with chores.
At that moment, the female lead accidentally knocked over a ping pong ball, making a loud noise, which displeased her husband, who began to blame her. Her daughter also criticized her for being too careless.
At this point, the female lead finally broke down, saying she wanted to go on a self-driving tour and didn't want to stay for another moment. Upon hearing this, the husband became furious and cursed, saying, "If you have the guts, just go and never come back."
Seeing that her mother was really going to leave, the daughter panicked and grabbed her mother, saying, "I just became the property manager; I can't split my attention right now. I'm begging you, please don't go, help me take care of the kids."
This time, the female lead was determined to leave, resolutely saying, "You figure it out yourself." Then she packed her bags and drove away from the suffocating home.
After the female lead left, she did not contact her family. The family thought she was just temporarily angry and would return soon, so they did not take it seriously.
Until a long time later, the daughter could no longer hold back and called her mother. On the phone, the daughter admitted her selfishness and hoped to gain her mother's forgiveness, saying her mother could do whatever she wanted, and she would no longer be a burden. Thus, the rift between mother and daughter was resolved.
However, just as the female lead was drinking with her classmates in the wild, her husband's call came in. He still did not care about her but said that she used his car card when she left, and the highway fee had deducted eighty-one yuan.
Hearing her husband's cold words, the female lead felt very sad. After retorting to her husband, she hung up the phone and transferred the money to him via WeChat, while in a fit of anger, she threw away the car card. She immediately felt much better.
Now, the female lead is driving and live-streaming, no longer depressed, and her mood is getting better and better. She can finally live for herself.