Nian finds her life at a standstill when facing relentless bullying from her peers as she prepares for her college entrance exam. Fate brings her together with small-time criminal Bei, but before they can retreat into a world of their own, both are dragged into the middle of a murder investigation that will change their lives forever.
“Better Days” is set in the sprawling Chongqing municipality, technically the largest city in the world. The municipality is a massive industrial hub and a testament to China’s rapid growth. Chen Nian (Zhou Dongyu) is a high school student prepping for her entrance exams into a prestigious University. Her fellow classmates are horrible bullies, taunting Chen, and other ostracized students on a daily basis. One girl succumbs to the harassment and tragically takes her own life. Looking to investigate the suicide, local Police make a scene by pulling Chen out of class, causing further resentment from her peers. During the interview Chen is refusing to answer much, she’s more worried about the wrath of her abusers.
On her walk home Chen witnesses a group of ruffians beating up a young man, and they immediately turn their attention on her. The gang robs her of 50 Yuan, and began to berate her, the beaten man gets the upper hand and pummels the leader of the group, ending the ordeal. He introduces himself as Xiao Bei (Jackson Yee) then selflessly indemnifies her for the 50 Yuan. The night shots are beautiful, neon signs fill the streets and illuminate character’s faces. The pair have a meal together and end up sharing a lot about themselves at Xiao’s apartment. He regrets being so vulnerable and performatively shows off how tough he is. The tough-guy act backfires and Chen leaves upset and further isolated.
The next day at school the head bully, a pretty mean girl, shoves Chen down a staircase and the entire group is suspended. A detective drives her home and offers condolences along with his phone number in case of an emergency. When she calls him, he doesn’t answer, so she calls Xiao for comfort and possible safety. Xiao loves to retort, “I’m just a punk” when in reality he’s empathetic and chivalrous in his own way. When he sees an older gangster forcing a homeless kid to be a thief, Xiao beats the crap out of the gangster. Things really get interesting when he begins to attack the bullies that have targeted Chen.
Hong Kong-born director Derek Tsang is a young, relative newcomer to the film industry. He shoots subjects mainly at eye-level with a flowing hand-held camera, at times freewheeling through the city. The theme of bullying is a universal issue and some scenes are hard to watch. The screenplay falls into melodrama at times but for the most part, stays grounded like its urban setting. It’s more unique than an average coming-of-age story but the running time of over two hours is a bit daunting. Regardless, the editing is well-done, images are inserted like fractured memories in an artistic manner. There are cultural and political nuances that an average Westerner like myself probably missed but I appreciated exploring the themes of conformity and self-sacrifice. “Better Days”’s message is universal but I just wish it was more succinct.
Available on Blu-ray and Digital May 5th
