Better Days (2019)

Directed by Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang

Starring Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee

K and I watched Better Days. It was one of the foreign movies on her list of Oscar nominations. From the get-go, I knew I would like it. The photography, the sound effects, the music were very smart.

Based on a popular young adult novel (In His Youth, In Her Beauty by Jiu Yuexi), Better Days takes place in a Hong Kong high school. The time is just before college entrance exams. 10 million students will be taking it.

That is in itself sufficient tension for a good story. But the protagonist, a 16-year-old in the equivalent of her senior year, is thrown into a world of vicious bullying and then is saved, sort of, by an encounter with a more sinister world of violence when she stumbles into a chance meeting with a gang member.

This is part Romeo and Juliet, part Bonnie and Clyde, part My Bodyguard. It’s also a social critique – not just of bullying, but also the pressures of the Chinese academic system.

If you want to get a feel for the difference between China and the US, both in terms of the experience of being a student and what it’s like to be part of a centralized government, this will give you a good idea.

It’s a long movie at 2 hours and 15 minutes, but it is one of the best of all the Oscar nominees I saw. Right up there with Judas and the Black Messiah.

Due to the immense popularity of its stars, Jackson Yee and Zhou Dongyu, it was one of the most highly anticipated Chinese films of 2019. (Yee has been in the spotlight in China and Japan since his debut at age 13 as the youngest member of the idol group TFBoys. Idol groups are made up of multitalented singers, dancers, and models. Their fame is generally manufactured and based on their attractiveness and social media/fan influence.)

It became a box office and pop cultural phenomenon in China, and received almost universal praise. But it was not popular with the Chinese government, which only very reluctantly allowed the film to be screened because of the sensitivity of its subject. It was pulled without explanation from the Berlin Film Festival days before it was to be shown. It failed to come out as scheduled in June in Chinese cinemas, before it was finally rolled out on Oct 25.

You can watch the trailer here.

Critical Reviews

* “Though not very subtle in presenting its thesis, the story is generally suspenseful and well-told by young HK actor and director Tsang.” (Hollywood Reporter)

* “Three years ago, Tsang made Soul Mate, an enchanting tale about female friendship that offered an engrossing look at modern, urban China. Yet that film isn’t quite adequate preparation for the emotional wallop of Better Days.” (Austin Chronicle)

* “Perceptive and gripping drama from China about pressure and bullying in schools, and one of the best films of 2019.” (Ready Steady Cut)