Better Days (2019 film)

Better Days (Romanized as  Shao nian de ni) is a 2019 Chinese drama film directed by Derek Tsang and written by Lam Wing Sum, Li Yuan and Xu Yimeng. Based on the Chinese young adult novel In His Youth, In Her Beauty (少年的你，如此美丽; literally "The Youthful You, So Beautiful") by Jiu Yuexi, the film stars Zhou Dongyu (Chinese: 周冬雨) and Jackson Yee (Chinese: 易烊千玺), and follows a high school girl struggling with severe bullying and the pressure of upcoming college entrance exams, whose life becomes intertwined with that of a teenage street thug.

Better Days was released on 25 October 2019 in China and on 8 November 2019 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. One of the most highly anticipated Chinese films in 2019 due to its leads Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee's immense popularity, the film became a pop culture phenomenon in China as well as a box office hit, grossing a total of US$230.1 million. A critical success, the film was chosen as the official entry for Hong Kong for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards; it became the third Hong Kong entry in history to achieve the nomination (27 years after Farewell My Concubine, the second), and was the first nominated entry directed by a Hong Kong native rather than by a Mainland Chinese director.

Plot
After her classmate, Hu Xiaodie, commits suicide because of school bullying, Chen Nian finds herself as the new victim of the "queen bee" and vicious school bully, Wei Lai, along with her friends. When Chen Nian witnesses teenage thug Liu Beishan, also known as "Xiao Bei," being assaulted by rival thugs, she attempts to call the police but is attacked by the thugs as well. They force her to kiss Xiao Bei as a way to humiliate them.

Chen Nian’s school bullies grow fiercer, physically attacking her and spreading rumors about her family. Police detectives Zheng Ye and Lao Yang investigate Hu Xiaodie’s death and reveal that Chen Nian has reported being bullied. As a consequence, Wei Lai and her friends are suspended from school. Enraged, the three expelled bullies chase Chen Nian one day with boxcutters and a cage of rats. With nowhere else to turn, she seeks refuge at Xiao Bei’s house and asks him to protect her while she studies for the college entrance exam. He agrees and accompanies her to and from school each day, and during this time, the two grow close.

Xiao Bei is picked to be in a lineup and ends up stuck at the police station. Without his protection, Chen Nian is caught by the bullies; they cut her hair, beat her, and strip her, all while filming. When Xiao Bei is finally released, he rushes home to find a bleeding Chen Nian in tatters. He assists her in shaving her head and shaves his own in solidarity.

On the day of the exam, heavy rain causes a landslide. While clearing the landslide, Wei Lai's body is discovered. After the first day of the two-day exam, the detectives question Chen Nian as the main suspect in Wei Lai’s murder. They ask her why she didn’t come to them after the video of her was filmed; she states that she simply wants to take her exam and move away to Beijing for college.

As she's being escorted home by police, Xiao Bei grabs Chen Nian, and they run. He explains that the only way for her to go to college is if he takes the blame for Wei Lai's death. Reluctantly, Chen Nian agrees, and he acts as though he's assaulting her, leading to his arrest.

A flashback reveals Wei Lai begging Chen Nian not to report the video to the police. When Chen Nian pushes her in anger after she persists, Wei Lai falls down the stairs, hitting her head and dying. In the present, Chen Nian and Xiao Bei are interrogated but maintain that the only time they had met was when Xiao Bei attacked Chen Nian.

After Chen Nian receives her exam score, the detective informs her that Xiao Bei has been sentenced to death. Distraught, Chen Nian admits her involvement in the crime. The detective reveals that he lied to her to get her to confess, as the sentence would be lighter for both of them. He takes her to see Xiao Bei, and they agree to accept the lighter sentences; both end up in jail.

A few years later, Chen Nian is a teacher. She notices a distressed child, and they walk home together, closely followed by Xiao Bei. Screens explain the policies enacted by the Chinese government since the incident to prevent bullying in schools and impose stricter punishments on school bullies. Finally, there's a plea for everyone to take responsibility for the youth and their safety.

Production
Better Days is adapted from Jiu Yuexi's novel In His Youth, In Her Beauty (the novel was also translated as Young and Beautiful by some sources).

Production started in July 2018 and ended on September 10, 2018. Most of the film was shot on location in Chongqing.

Release
Better Days was released on October 25, 2019, in China. It was released by Well Go USA Entertainment in Mandarin with English subtitles in selected theaters in the United States and Canada.

The film was pulled from the Berlin Festival's Generation section.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from  critics, with an average rating of. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The film also received a rating of 8.4/10 on Chinese film rating cite Douban and a 9.4/10 score on Chinese ticketing site Maoyan. The film topped the list of MovieWeb's Best Chinese Movies of the 2010s.

Cary Darling of the Houston Chronicle stated in 2019 that it was "one of the best films of the year" and that it "deserves a wide audience".

Box office
Better Days grossed more than US$80 million dollars on its opening weekend in China. The film grossed more than 1.29 billion yuan (about 184 million U.S. dollars) in only 15 days in China.

Accolades
The film won the Snow Leopard Special Jury Award at the 6th Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles in March 2021.