Better Days

Young runaway thug meets little bullied student. Now, you may be thinking: cliche, cliche, cliche. Well, it may look that way, at first sight. But, matter of fact, the end result is - on the other hand, and by all means - utterly surprising and especially convincing. Never trite, never simplistic, never needlessly tear-jerking, never rhetorical (with the sole exception of the finale, but we'll get there...). An almost-masterpiece of social conscious drama.

Even though - you know, because of the all-encompassing censorship - the movie has to proceed by "suggesting" and "implying", it still manages to convey an interesting point, in a manner which is never - I repeat, never - dull or silly. The movie manages to picture a complex everyday reality for an ever-to-large number of students, to picture an oppressing and uncompromising environment, full of every kind of pressure: scholastic, familiar, societal... Competition at all costs and unrestrained pursue of academic excellence are matched by a society which generally entails full-blown individual oppression. In such a context, there's little room left for hope and little hope left in the possibility of changing things for the better.

Edge-of-your-seat gripping and memorable, "Better Days" crawls you in to never let you go, and as I said it compels you to see and investigate, and not ignore (which is always too easy to do). You will see with your own eyes what it means to grow up in a strictly hierarchical society, where you are from a very young age "put into the right pace" and "educated" to the most complete abnegation and the most fatalistic acceptance. Compelled to always be on-the-top-of-your-game, compelled to never fail, never slow down. Because failing is not an option, failing just one test may complete ruin your future existence. Of course, there's consequentially no time for compassion, no time for any kind of distraction, no time to really socialize (and empathize), no time to play, no time to fool around. You must be always perfect. Perfect. Again: at all costs.

I mean, the unbearable pressure which Asian's students have always be subjected to reaches almost paroxysmal levels (for another example of this state of things, I'd strongly suggest you also give a chance to the chilling Korean movie "Pluto", 2012).

By suggesting and implying "Better Days" seems to have been able to elude censorship to some degree. Yes, the finale is clearly false: the last ten minutes or so have most probably been added because of censorship. But - almost incredibly - this finale doesn't really ruin the good work done in the two hours plus before it. Because it's very critical and very hard-hitting, and not by any chance consolatory or reassuring or uplifting, with all due respect to the propaganda agency.

So, in the end, to sum it all up I would say that the movie doesn't make any new point and doesn't really cover any new ground, but it's able to face its topical subject matter with assurance and ability, and great technical gift, as made clear by the excellent directing, the dark gloomy cinematography and great acting (the two protagonists really have a unique chemistry).

"Better Days" is a great movie. Realistic, poignant and thought-provoking. A little gem. Don't miss it.

Tsang is no question a force to be reckoned him. Without him the film is perhaps at best a 5/10, as the script and story is forgettable and predictable. The director is able to instil a sense of modernism and style into the film. Better Days is also helped out by having a strong performance from both of the leads. Regardless, the motif and theme of the movie has to be told one way or another, bullying is perhaps an often forgotten topic in Chinese society, and one that is not always recognized in a country where everything is developing at such a lightning pace. More of these films should and needs to be made, works like this raises awareness but most importantly really looks at the human side & reasoning behind bullying.

I was unable to take my eyes off of the screen for the entire movie. A girl is preparing to take her entrance exams in order to enter Beijing University. The competition is fierce and after the suicide of a fellow student, she is bullied by a few extremely vicious classmates. A street thug crosses paths with her and winds up protecting her from her tormentors. A plot twist involving her foes turns this into a top tier crime drama. The two leads are tremendous and by the end of the film I was emotionally drained. This is an example of what movie is meant to be. It should have won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Nominated for best foreign language movie , I was curious to watch as the synopsis sounded interesting.

The story is set in the class sitting their final exam of a college in order to move to university.

Bullying takes a terrible toll and one girl who comes from humble roots is caught up in a series of threats from the bullies Her path crosses a hardened criminal and an unlikely alliance is formed.

A wonderfully written script and direction that give scenes with little dialogue deep resonance and emotion.

Very moving movie which highlights the subject of bullying and those that carry it out and those that observe but do nothing.

Highly recommended.

Derek Tsang's Oscar Nominated (Best International Film) is an impassioned look at school bullying. The movie can be unsparing in depiction of the maltreatment, and, at times it seems like life for our teenage heroine Chen Nian (Dongyu Zhou) is nothing but abuse, whether it be physical or psychological. Still, Tsang brings to it a style and a sweep that is emotionally satisfying all the while.

Chen is a smart high school student on the verge of taking the national college entrance boards - think SAT but done on a Super Bowl level*. The pressures are enormous enough without having a nasty gang of Heathers using all kinds of tactics to make her life miserable. Chen strikes up an unlikely relationship with a street hustler named Xiao Bei (Jackson Yee) and he agrees to be her personal bodyguard of sorts.

The scenes with Chen and Xiao give Tsang an opportunity to really show off his visual skills, even if some of it seems cribbed from Wong Kar-Wai (he is hardly the first, of course, look no further than Sofia Coppola). Varqa Beuher's electronic score adds to the propulsive mix. Tsang also employs time jumps and a lot of cross-cutting - not always to the movie's advantage. A third act twist somewhat derails the story into legal thriller territory. Still, there is no denying Tsang's prowess even at its most overwrought. Zhou is in her late 20s, but, her waif-like appearance easily convinces that she is 17, and her performance is extremely affecting. HK teen idol Yee has a good screen presence to add to their screen chemistry.

BETTER DAYS tells a universal story about bullying, but, it has a vision of its own. Tough subject matter, but, a very rewarding one.

* There has been some internet controversy about Jiu Yuexi's source novel that the movie is based on being unduly influenced by a similar Japanese book by author Higashino Keigo. Of course, in Japan, the national exams are perhaps the most famously hellish in the world.