This review may contain spoilers
Slightly overhyped but I get it
Having had a brief experience with bullying and the street life, this is a pretty straightforward depiction of two people from two different walks of life finding a bond. Also having seen many variations of series and movies that revolve around bullying, this one is relatively watered-down. Maybe it has something to do with censorship or maybe it would just require a lot more episodes to really dive into the different perspectives of all the individuals at play from the parents to the teachers to the various backstories of the bully and her followers. But for those who haven't experienced much outside of their standard environment, this would be a good and to-the-point type of story.It is disturbing of course how just recently in 2025, the bullies of a 14-year old in Sichuan Province, China in real-time seemed to have taken pointers from the ones in this movie. Despite the efforts of what the movie was trying to portray, the resulting punishments were just as minimal.
Was this review helpful to you?
A film that will forever have an effect on me
I didn't really pay much attention to the plot summary which is a blessing in disguise because I think it increased the quality of my watch, hence why I won't reveal any spoiler in this review. My advice is, if the trailer captured your interest, then it is most probably worth the try.I think it would be useful for some if I state some trigger warnings if you're planning to watch this movie. It has bullying, violence, and blood. This film is very emotionally charging so I hope you are prepared for that.
Bullying is a theme that is nothing new when it comes to all sorts of media, but I think what makes this shine above the others is the writing, the cinematography, and specially the acting.
First of all, I'm not really a film person, it is rare for me to be really affected on a movie I watched, because I feel like I need more time to care about the characters enough that I feel involved and engaged to whatever is happening in the story... but I must say, that this is one of the rare ones. It's been 9 months since I watched this movie and I still cannot get over how incredible it is. I admit, I initially wanted to watch this because I have a knack for emotionally damaged/troubled people leaning on each other for support and this one satisfed that, though the hint of romance made me want for more.
Here we have two leads who are both strong in their own ways. I appreciate the way the writing did not shy away to depict the harsh reality of Chen Nian (FL) and Bei Shan (ML). It is amazing truly, how the actors, Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yi portrayed their characters so well that I feel tremendous hurt as I watch them go through those tough things, and my heart weeps in joy when they get their rare moment of peace, comfort, and happiness. I really thought I was prepared for the heaviness but halfway through the film of me sobbing, I realized just how emotionally charging this is.
I personally don't like rewatching stuff but I would really love to watch this again, sometime, when I have seem to forgot how moved I was when I first watched this. So I could see the little things I didn't notice before, and still appreciate what makes this movie great.
I want to end this review with a quote written by the female lead, Chen Nian in the movie, because I think it is a good presentation of the premise and the message resembles that of what I think the movie is trying to convey:
"We are in the gutter
but some of us are looking at the sears."
(If you want to see more of what I have to say about this film, most of which includes spoilers, here is a thread I made on twitter: https://twitter.com/aeipathyforher/status/1357701103903592451?t=Q8obK7rddaA5hfUzTfoDgg&s=19)
Was this review helpful to you?
painfully beautiful, gut-wrenching masterpiece
been putting this off because i was scared it would be TOO sad for me.But nah its PERFECT! made me tear up and it was just amazing
the leads are a great depiction of young dumb and in love, their so naive and stupid but so pure.
dont be scared to shy and not watch this movie, its an experience everyone needs to go through!!
9/10 would 100% recommend
Was this review helpful to you?
Will there ever be better days?
I started this movie without knowing anything about it, except for it being the highest-rated one on MDL. Naturally, I was expecting the best, and I wasn’t disappointed. It's one of the best I have ever watched so far.The movie unfolds as a sad, dark, and consuming story. Chen Nian, a studious student with a mom working a bit too far away, lives alone with debt creditors knocking on her door regularly. Despite her hardships, she has one goal – to enroll in university. But, will they leave her be? No, there had to be a rich troublemaker with some issues, bullying the poor Chen Nian.
Somehow she meet Bei Shan, who becomes her protector. They start going to and from school together, with him always in her shadows, ensuring no one can hurt her. Everything seems fine until the bully decides to push Chen Nian to her limits.
The plot was awesome, and I loved how the main leads hit it off. The living dynamic and their journey towards healing were well portrayed. Every little thing they did together created sweet moments.
The acting was amazing; they expressed their feelings in a way I cannot ignore and portrayed the characters well. Jackson Yee, considering his age that year, was surprisingly mature, displaying wisdom, care, love, and sacrifice.
I'm not over this movie yet and, as always, wished to see more. It was worth the time!
Was this review helpful to you?
This movie was on my mind for WEEKS after watching it
I don't think there are enough words to describe how amazingly produced this movie was. It felt like you were watching someone's life. The actors perfectly executed this role and did what needed to be done to make the movie as impactful as it was. There are a lot of heavy topics covered in this movie but I feel like this isn't just a "coming to age" movie. It is so much more. The relationships between people, good and bad, are shown instead of told and they feel so real! The grievances the character experience really do help and it shows the shortcomings of society and social media as well. It highlighted a particular part of youth and the issues handled without making it seem childish. They handed actual real-life issues and couldn't rely on the adults around them because they mentally couldn't and wouldn't know how to handle the situation properly. I love this movie with my whole heart and I would do anything just to watch it again. Please do give it a watch. I promise it is worth your time.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The greatest strengths here are the excellent performances from the two leads - who do a lot with very few lines and have such great chemistry on screen together. The cinematography is also beautiful, lending a heightened, poetic sensibility to the story. I think that sometimes the actual 'message' of the film feels too blatant, while also feeling somewhat muddled by the ending. Certainly a film that deserves to be rewatched and that deals a real emotion punch. The nuance of that punch is debatable, but I think the purity of the emotions and the sincerity of the story make up for that. Was this review helpful to you?
I'm still thinking . . WOW that was powerful acting!
This is not a genre that I normally watch (but I might now if there are other gems like this) and I don't recall how it got on my list but if you have chance to watch it, I highly recommend it.This is great storytelling; scenes were truly heartbreaking and moving. The character development and story progression made me feel attached and invested. After the "incident" I felt all the anger and sadness of the ML. I wanted him to lash out. I wanted payback. The acting was nothing short of phenomenal. The emotions felt genuine. There was no fluff, no filler, each scene helped to move the movie along. It didn't fell like a 2 hour movie. The chemistry between the FL and ML worked well; I was really rooting for them. I wanted them to have a happy ending.
The cinematography was excellent. The tight framing around the FL and ML faces made scenes more poignant. No distractions, you were singularly focused on the moment, the emotion.
There is not much to say about the music. It didn't stand out but it didn't need to. The "basicness" was just enough to help convey the emotions on screen; from the slow playing piano to add to the sadness and hesitation to the fast paced violin to increase the intensity.
Overall I can't find fault with this movie. It is definitely a 10 and something I would wholeheartedly recommend and re-watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
WOW - I don't know what other word would describe this film besides this one
I came into this film without any high expectations and after 30 minutes passed by I was confused as to where the narrative or story line was going but after sitting through more of it I could tell. Not only is it about bullying and how detrimental it can be but it is also a story about life and other hardships.One thing I got from this film was to live in the present and to not judge other people as you do not know what they are going through or what they have been through. The male lead did an exceptional job at making us doubt him but in the same light have an ounce of empathy for him so that we knew not to give up.
There was also an aspect of parental neglect in this and I hoped they dived into that portion more but other wise I give this film a 9.5 - beautiful story about life, love and hardships. Life is not always beautiful but there's always some light at the end of the tunnel.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
it was a good experience for me to see it and it is good to see it once
It was a good movie and it was able to show a painful and difficult loveThe acting of the actors, especially the leading actress, was wonderful
But there were some problems that could not be overcome
One was the characterization of the character of V Lai, the same psycho and bully girl. Bantam did not spend much time on his character and it would have been much better if they had given us more information about him and showed his character more deeply.
Most of this character was an excuse to show the love of the two main characters of the film
Another negative point of the movie was the lack of balance between the first half and the second half of the movie.The first half of the story was a melodrama and calm, but at the same time beautiful and spectacular, but in the second half, the story took on a criminal theme and became chaotic, and this complicating the situation by the author did not create a good result in the film process.
If the second half was as smooth and calm as the first half and at the same time showed off its beauty, it would have become a better work.
But overall, it was a good experience for me to see it and it is good to see it once
Was this review helpful to you?
must watch!!!!!/ต้องดู!!!!!
it a few month ago i watch this movie.now i just miss many scenes and i had to do a review to say this is good to watch. although the story is about bullying but in another side they have a heartwarming and romance story.I admire staff, directors, writers, actors everything in the movie have a massage.i love the ml they both doing great job when they show they lost everything i feel it too actually after i watch this i become a fan of jacson i thinks he is good actor and has potential in acting his facial expression was very good make me believe he is xiao bei .The music is also very good. At first, I didn't understand the meaning of songs (林俊傑 JJ Lin - 我們很好 Better Days/《念想》我们一起守护【Jackson Yee) but after watch it again i searching the meaning of songs so touching and fit with thing that happen to their life.if anyone comes through here, please do not hesitate.WATCH IT!!!!!ไม่รู้มีคนไทยเล่นเว๊บนี้บ้างไหม เห็นเม้นมีแต่อิ้ง แต่มีให้เลือกภาษาไทยอยู่ เลยเม้นไทยด้วยเลย อยากแนะนำให้ทุกคนดู หลายเดือนที่ผ่านมาได้มีโอกาศดูเรื่องนี้ แล้วชอบมากๆค่ะ ตอนนี้ก็ยังคิดถึงหลายๆฉากเลยคิดว่าควรมารีวิวหน่อยว่ามันดีมากๆ ในเรื่องจะเป็นเรื่องเกี่ยวกับการแกล้งกันแต่มันมีหลายฉากมากที่แบบอบอุ่นใจอ่ะ คือมีมุมให้เรายิ้มอ่อน แบบเห้ยไม่สังเกตก็จะปล่อยผ่านแต่พอดูปุ๊ปแบบใจหน๊วยย อยากจะชมทีมงาน ผู้กำกับ คนเขียนบท นักแสดง คือทุกอย่างในเรื่องมันมีความหมายไปหมด ชอบนักแสดงหลักทั้งสองคนมาก แสดงรับส่งอารมณ์กันได้ดีมากๆ เรากลายเป็นแฟนคลับของเชียนซีเลย คือแสดงสีหน้าแววตาได้ดีมาก เพลงก็ดีมากๆ ได้ไปหาความหมายเพลงมาคือยิ่งฟังยิ่งซึ่ง ยิ่งคิดไปถึงเนื้อเรื่องเหตุการที่ตัวละครต้องเจอเออแบบมันใช้เลย ปกติคือเป็นสายซีรี่จีนนะ นี้เลยเป็นหนังจีนในรอบ 10 ปีของเราเลย เอาเป็นว่าจำไม่ได้แล้วด้วยซ้ำว่าหนังจีนเรื่องล่าสุดที่ดูคืออะไร ประทับใจมากๆๆ ใครที่อ่านมาถึงตรงนี้ก็ขอแนะนำเลยค่ะ ดูเถอะ
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I recorded this movie in my heart.
This movie is made in such a way that if it has not even happened to you or you have not been wronged, you will notice the damage that has been done to this girl and you will feel it. At one point, an officer said that maybe it is not like this for us, but they are teenagers, and yes, it means Everything is honest and loyal, a huge love has been shown in the boy's face, he wanted the girl to experience things or dreams that he didn't have, even his heart wanted to die and let her live, and it would be nice to have such people in our lives now. They don't exist or they are few. I wish movies weren't just for watching and forgetting, and we could change our behavior. I recorded this movie in my heart.Was this review helpful to you?
Important Issue
I love the focus being on bullying since this is a global wide issue for school age children and an issue that can persist into adulthood especially in the workplace.Great movie! Strongly written and executed story. The bond between the pair was beautiful, very unconventional, but deep and long lasting. I was glad to see the outcome was still desirable for the two. Also, the acting was great here. I was easily able to connect with their stories as they poured their hearts and souls out to each other. My only complaints were one major plot hole that made me wonder how was the girl able to get close enough to be murdered and I wish they showed more of their later years as we only got a glimpse.
Otherwise, this is a highly recommended watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
