Is the world truly big enough for everyone, or only for those who fit into society’s narrow definition of “normal”?
Big World (2024), available to stream on netflix, doesn’t shy away from asking difficult questions. It brings to life the struggle of being different in a world that only accepts the familiar. With breathtaking cinematography and raw storytelling, the film follows a young man with cerebral palsy—“a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.” But this is not just a story about his disability. It’s about the invisible walls society builds around people like him, making them feel like outsiders in their own world.
At first, the film moves gently, not drowning in sadness but weaving moments of quiet reflection. But as it unfolds, it grips you, forcing you to see the stark contrast between those who walk through life with ease and those who must fight for every step. Chunhe, the protagonist, asks for nothing extraordinary—just a little happiness and the simple act of being seen as normal. But the world only gives him pity, unease, and rejection.
Liu Chunhe’s Life – A World Within a World
Though Big World is a work of fiction, it feels hauntingly real. Liu Chunhe, a 20-year-old with cerebral palsy, was born different—not because of fate, but because of a simple push during childbirth. That small, uncontrollable moment changed everything. From the start, his existence was met with frustration, especially from his mother, who longed for a child without “problems.”
His father is barely present in the movie, which feels strange, as if the story has already accepted that his role doesn’t matter. But the tension between Chunhe and his mother is always there—raw and unfiltered. She wants him to fit into a world that has no place for him, yet she resents him for not belonging.
Then there’s his grandmother—the only person who truly sees him. She brings him into her world, introducing him to her friends, making space for him where others would rather look away. Through her, he meets Yaya, a girl who, for the first time, looks at him without pity. That gaze, so simple and normal, feels like a breath of fresh air. But the illusion shatters when, on a walk together, she suddenly becomes embarrassed to be seen with him and leaves.
The world has taught people to look at him with either discomfort or forced kindness—but never as an equal.
A Fight for Dignity, Not Sympathy
Chunhe wants what every young person wants—a chance to live on his own terms. He dreams of going to a regular university, but his mother insists he attend a college for disabled students near home. Refusing to accept a smaller world than he deserves, he secretly applies to a normal university and takes a job at a coffee shop to pay for it.
But even here, the world plays cruel tricks. The café hires him not because they see his talent, but because they see an opportunity. They present his employment as an act of charity, a marketing tool to attract customers who want to feel good about supporting a disabled worker. Chunhe doesn’t want their pity; he wants his independence.
The movie captures his daily struggles with an unflinching eye. Eating without choking, walking without collapsing from exhaustion, bathing without slipping—things most people do without thought become battles for him. And yet, this is all the world notices.
What they don’t see is the brilliance beneath.
- He writes poetry that could bring people to tears.
- He is one of the top students in his class.
- He does his own chores without complaint.
- He helps his grandmother’s elderly friends with their phones, small errands—anything to make their lives easier.
- He brings warmth into people’s lives even while his own heart breaks.
And then, there’s that moment—the one you won’t forget.
Chunhe hides inside a suitcase, listening as his parents search for him. They don’t know he can hear them. And when his mother sighs and says, “Maybe it would be better if we never found him,” you feel your breath catch.
It’s one thing to be unwanted. It’s another to hear it confirmed.
More Than Just a Movie
Big World isn’t about disability. It’s about how we define who belongs and who doesn’t. It’s about the quiet cruelty of treating someone as an exception rather than an equal. We’ve moved past racial and gender discrimination in many ways, but the invisible lines of “normal” still exist. The film forces us to ask: Who decides what normal is? And why do we let them?
Because a big world should be big enough for everyone.
Leave a Reply