The Post-Truth World, also known as “Zui hou zhen xiang,” is a Taiwanese Mandarin-language suspense thriller directed by If Chen (also known as Yifu Chen or Chen I-fu). Zhang Zheng-yi is at the center of the story. Zheng-yi, a former baseball prodigy, was found guilty of killing Wang Shi-yun (Tzu Hsuan Chan) in 2012 at a ballpark. Liu Li-min (Hsiao-chuan Chang), a journalist and news anchor, was also there at the game with his family. When Li-min visits the prison to speak with an elderly crime boss, Zheng-yi captures him and flees. Although he soon lets Li-min leave, the latter is driven to learn the truth about what happened seven years ago, if only to advance his faltering career as an anchor rather than necessary to establish Zheng-yi’s innocence. Here is all the information you might need to know on “The Post Truth World’s” conclusion. Spoilers follow.
The Post-Truth World Plot Synopsis
The phrase “post-truth” refers to the general public’s preference for subjective viewpoints and emotional appeals over objectively verifiable facts. This acts as a major theme in the movie since every time Li-min produces a new video, the general public’s perception changes. On November 24, 2012, Li-min, his wife Xu Ya-jing, and their daughter Liu Zhen-zhen go to a baseball game. Shi-yun, her brother, and Zheng-yi are all present. After her brother tells that her father wants her to attend college rather than visit her boyfriend in America, Zheng-yi and Shi-yun dispute. Soon later, Zheng-yi is discovered holding Shi-yun’s lifeless body. Zheng-yi is found to be the guilty party by all available evidence, and he is found guilty and imprisoned as a result.
After seven years, we discover Li-min, who is now a widower, residing with his daughter. Ya-jing passed away from stomach cancer two years ago. Li-min feels under pressure from his editor since the ratings for his program, “True Standpoint,” aren’t what he wants. He agrees to meet an elderly mobster in prison out of desperation for a good scoop and is later taken captive by Zheng-yi in his attempt to flee.
Li-min activates the recording feature on his phone and starts live-streaming his kidnapping after realizing that this is exactly what he was looking for. He discovers that Zheng-yi did not specifically target him. He was the sole journalist that visited the prison to speak with the aging criminal. Li-min is dropped off, his phone is thrown into a lake, and his automobile is taken by Zheng-yi. As the video surpasses one million views, Li-min makes the decision to look into Shi-yun’s passing. Zheng-yi discovers a link between himself and the anchor he kidnapped in the meantime. A proposal for a news piece on Zheng-yi’s doping, it seems, was written by Ya-jing.
The Post-Truth World Ending: Who Killed Wang Shi-yun?
Shi-yun’s passing is the focus of the movie’s main mystery. She was the daughter of a wealthy man who disapproved of her relationship with Zheng-yi, a young guy from a somewhat lower socioeconomic status. Ya-jing never mentioned any of this to Li-min, so he is taken aback when Zheng-yi unexpectedly arrives at his home and holds his daughter at knifepoint while demanding to know how his wife was involved in the death of his lover. He begins sorting through his wife’s office belongings when he discovers a little bag of cocaine in the file intended for the study on Shi-yun. Additionally, he learns through his wife’s day planner that Shi-yun was due to meet her on November 24 at the restroom where the body of the younger girl was discovered.
Zheng-yi discovers that the dietary supplement drink Shi-yun was providing him caused him to have an illicit drug called tuaminoheptane in his blood. Shi-yun’s brother is the source of the information on Ya-jing, so Li-min pays a visit while Zheng-yi stays in the car. They learn that Shi-yun’s father recommended the specific kind of supplement to her, despite the fact that she was unaware that it included illegal ingredients. Shi-yun’s father also informed Ya-jing about Zheng-yi’s doping with the intention of ruining the young man’s career before it even got started.
Shi-yun apparently approached Ya-jing and begged her not to air the section about Zheng-yi’s doping after realizing this. She agreed to provide the reporter with information about a drug cartel operating at their school in return. She asserted that she was a member of the aforementioned cartel and that its leader is Wu Lin, a wealthy Wu family scion. In fact, post-mortem results show that she had cocaine in her system when she passed away.
In the end, all of these hints are useless. Li-min learns that his wife has finished her research and has found no evidence of a cartel at the school; Wu Lin obtained the drugs from his cousin in North America. He was the one who destroyed the camera there, although he had no idea that Shi-yun would later be killed there. Shi-yun made up everything, even depositing $600,000 in her own account, to protect Zheng-yi’s career from being damaged due to something her father made up.
Li-min discovers the solution, or at least a portion of it, when he sees Zeng Jing-an serving drinks at the ballpark in a family photo. Earlier in the movie, Chen Mei-zhi, an elderly woman with terrible amnesia, was visited by Li-min and his daughter. When Shi-yun was assassinated, she was a former employee of the ballpark. She began to apologize when Li-min mentioned Zheng-yi’s name during their visit. Li-min surmises that Zeng Jing-an, her grandson, was somehow connected to Shi-yun’s passing in the present. When confronted by Li-min and Zheng-yi, Jing-an admits guilt and claims it was an accident. Shi-yun first used cocaine when she met Ya-jing and Wu Lin, and she was still high when Jing-an came across her. Shi-yun started a fight, which resulted in her unintentional death. He also said that his grandmother assisted him with the cleanup.
Li-min asserts that Zheng-yi killed Jing-an because he was shielding him after Zheng-yi killed Jing-an. In the last moments of the movie, Li-min learns the truth about what actually occurred in that locked bathroom. In the scene following the credits, it is explained. Shi-yun attempted calling Zheng-yi as she was dying, pleading for his assistance and expressing pain. In the distance, there is a metallic sound. Li-min understands that it originated from Mei-zhi’s knee brace. She, not her grandson, was there in the restroom with Shi-yun when the younger woman was killed. Shi-yun’s unintentional demise was caused by Mei-zhi.
How Did Zeng Jing-an die?
Li-min claims that Zheng-yi killed Jing-an after the latter took him captive, but the truth is quite different from what he says to the authorities and the rest of the world. The final scene takes place in the same restroom where Shi-yun died, but this time it is usable. Li-min stands in the way when Zheng-yi tries to shoot Jing-an. Jing-an pushes Li-min away and makes an attempt to flee. However, Zheng-yi catches him and kills him with a broken tile. In addition, Li-min fabricates that Jing-an attempted to rape Shi-yun while under the influence of cocaine.
Before Li-min learns the truth about Mei-zhi, all of this takes place. But even then, he continues to support the untruth. The movie’s core premise is perfectly summarized in this scene. Truth is less important in the world of social media than perception. This is especially highlighted in a clever sequence at the film’s conclusion. When Zhen-zhen first saw Zheng-yi, she realized he wasn’t a murderer, she tells her father. She immediately responds, “Totally a killer,” when La-min inquires about Jing-an. The reality is the complete reverse of this impression. Jing-an’s only wrongdoing was assisting his grandma in clearing away all the evidence following Shi-yun’s passing; he didn’t commit any murders. Meanwhile, Zheng-yi viciously murders Jing-an out of wrath.
We can undoubtedly conclude that Li-min regrets what happened in some way. But it is not noticeable enough for him to take action. The recording he made when he visited Mei-zhi, the one piece of evidence that could show Jing-an was innocent, is strongly hinted to have been deleted. Since all of this occurred, Li-min’s life has improved. He has developed a sizable fan base as a viral newscaster, and his sense of guilt does not threaten that. He hasn’t posted any videos lately, but he does feel some remorse about it. His daughter then warns him that if he doesn’t stay active, he would lose the fans and audience he has amassed.
