Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A bullied teenage girl forms an unlikely friendship with a mysterious young man who protects her from her assailants, while she copes with the pressures of her final examinations.
Better Days is a powerful Chinese drama that tackles bullying, class disparity, and youth vulnerability with unflinching emotional honesty. The plot is tightly constructed and emotionally resonant, weaving romance and social critique into a compelling narrative. The two leads deliver raw, career-defining performances — Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee share remarkable chemistry and vulnerability. Derek Tsang's cinematography is visually striking, using close-ups and intimate framing to place the audience inside the characters' emotional experience. While the film is masterfully executed, its central premise of two outcasts finding solace in each other isn't entirely new territory, and the ending, while impactful, relies on some melodramatic and slightly convenient plot mechanics that slightly undercut its otherwise grounded realism.