This movie is fucking great. I watched it twice already. Both lead characters are so amazing and talented that you could feel their emotions, happiness, sadness, or whatever feeling right in their eyes and facial expression. The storyline is super compelling. It's a kind of story that stays with you and makes you think of it even after coming out of the cinema hall for days. Despite that violence and bully, the little love between the main leads makes me feel so warm and touched. Main leads did not talk much in the movie, but they communicate through their eyes and their expressions are damn amazing.
To sum up, the story, the actors' talent, and the casting choice are perfect. This is a must-watch movie.
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NO WORDS TO PRAISE THIS MASTER PIECE.PLEASE WATCH
Wohhhhh!I found a gem!Thank god its a happy ending.i wasnt a fan of school dramas. But this one is mind blowing. How both male and female lead can act so realistic?!Hats off. Acting, Makeup, Music, emotional content, story everything on point. Thanks MDL for helping me to find this movie.
How young actors are this much skillful?!!Its not at all like watching a movie, Its kinda watching them in real life. The scenes where both male and female leads talking through eyes are touching and realistic.
Its not a lovely cute drama to watch. Might not be everyone cup of tea. But a quality movie lovers will cherish this movie.
Dont skip this movie.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watched on recommendation from a friend and I noticed this had great reviews. I immediately recognised the main lead from Zhang Yimou's movie and she is a popular choice for many serious movies. She playes the "good student." Jackson Yee is someone I am unfamiliar with - although he is a new-ish actor and an idol, he has that mature aura that does not feel out of place. This is a serious movie that has been explored many times - about the gravity of bullying has on a young person's life in China, while facing these school bullies, it explores the wider society issues, of education, relentless competition between students and exams, this all or nothing state of pressure students live through. And this movie is dramatised as the young pair try to fight for themselves in a world where the adults seem to promise to help but never seem to have much power or follow through with their promises.
As tragic events worsen, they find a will to take matters into their own hands, leading the second half of the events to escalate into uncontrollable circumstances. This movie is a rollercoaster - Zhong Dong Yu plays a similar character from "Under the Hawthorn Tree" as a weak, shy, pitiful, pure character which is not a personal liking from watching Western dramas full of bad-ass strong women which we are used to seeing nowadays, however I've learnt to appreciate the quiet strength from the two leads. A plus from these two having good chemistry, and the casting was good - you really learn to hate the bullies and champion our leads. However for the negatives, I felt it was tad too heavy handed. I wished they explored more about the bullies esp the main girl, we only get a glimpse of her back story however I felt that was the most interesting part. It left it a bit too Good vs Evil.
What I also loved was the conviction these two shared and their hopefulness and naviety of teenagers making their own decisions was portrayed here - when they both made the decision to tell the same story to the police - only showed to prove how much these two have gone through and their bond that is unshattering that was physically represented by that couple Les Mis scene. These people become closer and closer until they share the same fighting spirit that unfortunately, as adults, ultimately will lose. This movie is good as it forces them to face the reality of their situation while downplaying their romantic decisions (as if actions do not have consequences), which is fitting as they transition as teens to adults.
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*Article: https://mydramalist.com/article/the-39th-hong-kong-film-award-nominees-have-been-announced-011014483
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What an incredible performance
I'll start this off by saying I am a big Jackson Yee fan, so there may be some bias, but he performed so well, especially given how new he is to acting. This is also my first review, but I had to for my fave.The silent strength of both the leads never fails to impress me. The topic is very serious, and really quite heartbreaking at times. This shows some of the people who are outsiders in their social circles, but find each other and power through. The ending could be a bit confusing, but the emotions throughout the film really make it worth the entire watch. It's pretty sad, but still worth rewatching to see how well everyone does and see the happier moments.
I'm utterly impressed by how well the leads perform in this movie. Zhou Dongyu has incredible films, and this is no exception. I want to note that Jackson was not even 18 yet when he filmed this movie, and his mature aura is really incredible. It's totally different than his regular personality and its incredible to see how well he does.
Overall, this is an amazing movie, that makes me tear up even when I am watching the trailer. "You protect the world, I'll protect you".
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This review may contain spoilers
" If you weren't the bully , than you were being bullied "
Girls be crying over a boy , I be crying over this movie .
This movie is a masterpiece. It's a story about the cruel reality of bullying we are living in. It's a story about two people who are hoping for better days after suffering so much. It's a story that should be heard and should be understood .
Both lead characters are so amazing and talented that you could feel their emotions, happiness, sadness, or whatever feeling right in their eyes and facial expression.
Even when they are having their happy little moments you will cry cause they are enjoying the days . i love this movie it delivers a simple message in a deep way; stop bullying. this movie spread awareness of bullying and informed me of many things that i did not realise happens when you get bullied; the story mainly goes through the pov of the victim getting bullied and shows her thoughts, unfortunately it did not really show what goes through the bullies thoughts which would be interesting to see if that happened it would probably try to make us feel sympathetic but i would have liked to see an extra where it shows the bullies side of story.
Before watching this i did not realise the harsh brutality of what these victims of being bullied goes through especially the amount of stress that they have to deal with studies is overwhelming enough i couldnt imagine getting bullied myself so throughout watching this i just felt extremely lucky that i dont get bullied at school. i love the cinematics in this, many scenes made me cry especially that one scene where the boy was pretending to rape the girl and when the cops seperated them they were both crying but not for the reason reason that they think- yeah that part just blew my mind and made me realise the the point of view can make a huge difference.
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A heartachingly poetic expression of love, hope & beauty
This is easily one of the best works i've ever seen.I cried my eyes out while watching this heart-wrenchingly poetic love story unfold.
This movie was superbly artistic, emotionally captivating and heartachingly beautiful.
The characters' love felt unapologetically genuine.. Even in the weighty silence, their eye were most eloquent...
Chapeau bas for the main leads. Their pain & longing kept tugging at my heartstrings throughout this experience... They portrayed a whole spectrum of complex human emotions in a seemingly sincere and unfeigned effort.
This piece of art is definitely worth all the appreciation & the praise it is receiving.
It is simply nothing short of a masterpiece. It will stay with me for a long time.
Themes:
Suffering, the human condition, bullying, social disparity, youth, sacrifice, unconditional love,
Tags: Bittersweet, thought-provoking, aesthetic picture, poetic romance.
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I'm speechless.
Really, I am. I have had this movie in my plan-to-watch list for over a year and for some reason I never gave it a chance, but thank God, yesterday I did.The plot is heartbreaking, really, really heartbreaking. As a person who suffered bullying myself, I can say it was really well portrayed, harsh and raw. Chen Nian asked for help; a lot of victims of bullying ask for help, not like they portray in almost every movie/serie bullying related.
The movie was really well done, really well filmed, and the acting... God, the acting. Especially from Zhou Dong Yu, I was left staring at the screen and wondering how could someone portray emotions so well. When she cried I cried with her, when she laughed I laughed with her. The viewer definitely feels empathy for both of the characters and we can see both of them are flawed, not perfect at all, which is also very realistic.
The relationship between both of the lead characters, oh my God, the chemistry! You could feel the love, how fond they were of each other. Kisses and hugs, any form of skinship, it wasn't needed. Just by the look in their eyes, their interactions, you could tell. It was so beautiful, I mean it. So bittersweet, though):
If anything, I would've liked to see a little backstory of Chen Nian's mom. I would've liked to see her more on screen, too; her reactions to certain things, why was she behaving like she was, etc. Sure, we get a really tiny backstory, but I would've liked it to be more specific. Still, this wasn't really bothering anyways. Not even needed, I would say. It's just that I'm curious, hahaha.
In conclusion, if you're hesitating to watch this or not: do it. It's raw, sometimes really hard to watch, but it's definitely worth it. It helps bring awareness on bullying in a really realistic way, and I think it's a must watch for everyone who may be interested. Also, the story is really interesting and nice. You won't regret watching, I promise.
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Honestly I came across this movie without any expectations. I started watching it five minutes after I heard about its existance. I avoid the school genre, because, you know, everything is always the same - bullies, bullying, suffering. Why did I decide to watch this movie knowing well about my preferences... I can't really tell. But I made a great decision.
''Better Days'' is a brilliantly-made piece of art. Every scene, ever dialogue, every word have its meaning. It's not a short movie but you never get bored. The directing was unique. You are excited for each scene because you have no idea what will happen. Honestly, I felt so angry watching it. Some scenes were very hard to endure even for me. Both main leads were so amazing, so strong. You could feel their pain just by looking at their face. Zhou Dong Yu and Jackson Yi are very young, but they have so much potential to become great actors in the future.
(I have more things to say but I finished the movie 2 hours ago and I'm still feeling the pain haha + I don't want to spoil anything)
So overall, I do recommend this movie to everyone. It's really a masterpiece and you shouldn't miss it!
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I like the storyline, although its difficult to watch some scene becos its reality.
Bullying is everywhere, in school, at work...
i think Better days' should be shown in every school, in every country .
you'll never know how people struggle behind their smiles. but then there is also a loving relationship was formed and help overcome all negativity involved . its definitely a meaningful movies,
Great acting for such young main actors!
I definitely recommend watching this at least once in your life.
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This review may contain spoilers
Thought-provoking teenage bully story
This is a novel adaptation, but not strictly following the novel narration. Which I am thankful for, else movie might suffer from being too slow moving. The main plotline is maintained, just some edits to make it more interesting as a movie.Initially i wasn't interested to watch it. I am past the young adult age group, and school theme movies are not my "cup of tea".... But there was something about the movie poster that caught my attention, so i decided to give it a watch and brought my niece along. We both love the film. It was also the last movie we watched in cinema before covid got more severe and cinemas were closed... So this review is about 10 months late.
Why i remember this movie now because I just saw iQiYi's The Long Night. I was reminded of this movie as I was watching The Long Night. But don't get me wrong! This story is not about fighting for justice, it is about bullying and how when pushed too far it can make a person snap and do something he/she would regret.
And here comes the 2nd theme of the movie:- when a good person did wrong, which was indirectly due to mental torture by the victim, should he/she take the punishment and lose his/her future?.... If you are looking for a movie to watch with a teenager, I highly recommend this. If not, well, you should still watch this movie. The movie is shot in natural (albeit a bit darker) colors, giving it a very realistic feel. The dialogues are simple and reflect real-life tones. It has a twist in the story although quite easy to guess early on. Its dark theme will haunt you for a while after you finish the movie, you would reflect on the ending. This is a movie where right and wrong is not clear-cut, not black and white but in shades of grey.
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