Better Days

少年的你 ‧ Movie ‧ 2019
Completed
Sas987
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 4, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Master piece, everyone should watch about the impact of bullying

I came across this film through a social media recommendation without really knowing what to expect, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. It tackles a very tough subject but manages to present it in a way that feels surprisingly hopeful.

As the film portrayed, bullies are never happy and when the person that they bullied is no more, they move on to the next person. What struck me the most was how everyone in the class was aware of the bullying and its victims, yet no one ever stepped up or spoke out—everyone just suffered in silence.

I really appreciated the storyline between the female lead (FL) and male lead (ML). Both characters had difficult childhoods, marked by neglect and abandonment from their parents, which gave their relationship a depth rooted in shared pain and growth. It's definitely a film I'd watch again.

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Completed
Genom
0 people found this review helpful
May 27, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

good dark romance story with realistic visuals

Better Days -9/10 -cmovie
its dark romance story between bullied girl and small time thug.
Whole movie got quite dirty dark vibe... I liked how actors looks unkempt and quite average looking.
This movie got :Parasite[movie]: like feel though story is very different.

Ending of movie makes it looks like its based on real case, but its based on novel, which I may read later on[its jsut how good this story was+ novel aint long].

plot - FL is student in her last year of high school preparing for exams. One day she gets to see suicide site of one of her fellow student quittance. Police starts to investigate and ask her questions which makes her next target for bullying. One day FL meets ML which is being beaten up by gang and tries help him. Its how FL and ML meets.

genre - romance, bullying, school

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Completed
Ramnyli
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 8, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

You can feel the pain through her eyes.

The movie portrays the cruelty of bullying and its impact on the victims.
After watching the movie, you wonder why or how the kids can be so cruel, how it is possible it is still happening nowdays.

The acting is just incredible, and you can feel the pain through the main female's eyes. I love the relationship she has with ML and how he is always there to protect her.

I am happy to see they got a happy ending after everything they've been through, although it may not reflect real-life scenarios. It gives you a sense of hope.

This movie will leave a lasting impression on you.

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Completed
DRAMA QUEEN
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 18, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

A show I can watch again and again

This is one of the best movies I have ever watched..... We always wait for better days to come. Some get it early for some it comes late..... But if the right person is beside you, everyday is your day❤️...... I enjoyed the movie so much. Sometimes I cried, sometimes I giggled watching them fall for each other..... I loved Bai's little smiles when he looked at Chen Nian😍..... Every characters did their job very well...... If I have nothing to do, then I wil just watch this drama so that I can remember such a good movie exists..
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Completed
SametlesDramas
0 people found this review helpful
Jan 14, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10

They found in each other their only hope

The film opens with an emotionally very hard scene: a student’s suicide, and from the start, the viewer understands that it will be difficult. BETTER DAYS has taken it upon itself to speak out against school harassment in all its pain and to talk about young people in difficult family situations. Two very hard subjects that are treated throughout the story without a pinch and with a poignant realism.

Carried by incredible actors, the viewer drinks the story and cries with the characters throughout the two hours... They managed to find a perfect balance between showing the violence as it is, and still preserving the viewer (which I liked very much because I am not able to accept this kind of scene without turning away).

Throughout the two hours, the film is dedicated to denouncing the Chinese school system as a whole. Indeed, it puts a monumental pressure on its young people who have no other hope of finding a job and succeeding in life than entering the best universities in the country. We also discover all the rites of passage of a high school student who, for westerners like us, seem so outsized. It is incredible, for example, that the examinations to enter universities are considered a real national event mobilizing the police... If you are interested, there are many reports on the subject (I had seen one about South Korea in particular) that you can find on youtube or elsewhere on the net.
In short, all this to say that the pressure on students must be released on something... or someone. And this leads to serious abuses such as school harassment where a whole class will be (actively or passively) on one or more comrades. And you can imagine, this will be the case of our poor heroine.

I loved romance passionately... There are several scenes that have remained etched in my memory for their beauty or intensity. A powerful romance between two teenagers who found in each other their only hope.

The story revolves around three endearing, touching and realistic characters.

CHEN NIAN (Zhou Dong Yu) is a very introverted character who has locked himself in a sort of silence and who, out of fear and selfishness, chooses to let one of his comrades be harassed, hoping that he will not be in his shoes. He is an imperfect character who touches us with his humanity, his despair and his fierce struggle to get out of a disastrous family situation and the absence of his indebted mother.
XIAO BEI (Jackson Yi) is a street boy who no longer believes in anything and gives his life no meaning. Without a family, he had to learn to manage on his own and his days are punctuated by fights, small trafficking of all kinds and great solitude and precariousness. When he goes to meet CHEN NIAN, he will suddenly find a meaning to his existence and will base all his hopes on it... Even if it means sacrificing yourself for success.
Finally, the third character I wanted to talk about is this policeman, ZHENG YI (Yin Fang), a young man who starts in the profession and believes in justice. His ideals will soon be upset when he discovers with horror that he fails to protect our teenager and it is a character who touched me very much for all his efforts.

Frankly, everything was so perfect in BETTER DAYS... The direction is excellent and supports the drama of the film, the actors are extremely good in their roles, the adapted story of a novel (itself inspired by a true story) is moving... In short this film made me cry, made me smile also sometimes and above all moved me a lot throughout.
I can only advise you this huge crush!

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Always embarrassed
0 people found this review helpful
Jan 31, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

Most realistic high school movie

Most C-series and movies I have watched which includes bullying are all just cringe and intolerable. The female lead will be cute and pouty while the male lead is the coolest, richest and most popular guy in school. There are more than tens of C-series which have this same trope. 🙂 But this movie was different. The cast executed their task at end perfectly giving way to this amazing movie. The cinematography of this movie was done so well. It looked very realistic and follows an amazing storyline to top it all up. ✨
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Completed
3vag3lia
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 9, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
Bulling is very common in our age and has been for a very long period of time. This movie was one of the many examples of what can happen to someone because of it. The movie is about a girl named Chen Nian that has just lost one of her "friends" due to suicide because of bulling. As Chen Nian was too afraid to do anything, she wasn't able to help/save her friend. After Hu Xiao Die's death (Chen Nian's classmate/friend) the bullies wanted to find a new person annoy and the one they chose was her, Chen Nian. After that, Chen Nian finds Liu Bei Shan, a boy who is only good at fighting and getting himself in trouble. After another event (of her getting bullied, again) , Chen Nian asks Liu Bei Shan to protect her. As the story continues, their relationship gets better and better and they start having feelings for one another (I mean, have you seen them both? They're gorgeous how could they not fall for each other?).

This movie also shows us how different teenagers and adults act in situations like these. It's very rare to see movies of this kind nowdays and that's a very negative thing. A love story of a 'bad boy' (who is actually a HUGE softie and a HUGE green flag) and a girl desperate to succeed in order to live a better life with her mother. I truly loved this movie and I definetly recomment.

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Completed
Eleni Arnaoutis
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 13, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

GOD DAYUM

I’ve never left a review before on this site, but as the title says GOD DAYUM was this good. I completely agree with all the praise and appreciation this film has received. Months later and I’m still thinking about this film, if you are reading this, just go ahead a give it a watch and thank me later! The leads in this film are phenomenal actors, the cinematography is superb, the atmosphere is brilliant and the story is incredibly sincere. I’ll recommend this to anyone and everyone.

(Check the triggers for this one though as it could be a difficult watch for some people)

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Completed
JennyLiang
0 people found this review helpful
Mar 15, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

pleasantly surprised

I think this was my first modern Chinese movie. I have seen all the hype and I am pleasantly surprised. This was so good. I thought I would be able to predict some plot lines, but there were so many plot twists. I was just as emotional as you'd expect it to be. Acting was phenomenal; you could truly feel it through the screen. Not really a happy ending, but it is an ending I am satisfied with because justice was served no matter what. Loved it.
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Completed
autumn_wind
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 25, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This movie adaptation is a little different from the original book "The youthful you who was so beautiful". The movie left out many details. But, considering it's a movie adaptation, it's quite understandable, as there is a time limit for it. The story is still well presented. It fullfil its purpose.

The acting is top-notch. The actors did a great job, specially the two main leads Jackson Yee and Zhou Dong Yu. I loved the cinematography.

I highly recommend people to read the book this movie is adapted from "The youthful you who was so beautiful" by Jiu Yue Xi.

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Jenos121
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 16, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Perfect film

I recommend it only if you can watch heavy themes. It was executed perfectly, I watched Cry Me a Sad River not long after this and it's also a very great movie to watch. But you really felt how they felt, the unfairness, the hate, the anger, the betrayal and the love. Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee did really well and they matched the vibe of it all. I would watch again, there's only good things I can write about the film. It is perfect, I did cry quite a bit and I was glad to see the changes that happened in the overall issue of bullying in China. Nobody should have to be abused in any way.

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Completed
sage
0 people found this review helpful
May 13, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE I WATCHED IN SO LONG

I watched this movie because of a tiktok edit yes kinda embarrassing but I am so glad, I watched it. I've never expected myself to like this movie as much as I did. I even maid my cousin watch it that's how obsessed I was with it. Anything related to someone getting bullied and them healing. I eat that shit up every-time. But this story it was something special the acting, the way the ml cared so much about her, It mean't so much to me. Also that one line in story where he says "You protect the world, I will protect you" HAS ME ON A CHOCK HOLD EVERY TIME OMGG. The only sorta complaint I got is the ending well personally I'm not a fan of bittersweet ending it could even be called an open ending. I've noticed a pattern that all the good things in media always have endings like this which makes sense because if there's a very specific ending people will always get hate for it example would be the author of AOT I totally recommend watching this movie, I wish I could watch it again or even see someone watch it for the first time.

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Better Days poster

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  • Score: 9.2 (scored by 22,321 users)
  • Ranked: #23
  • Popularity: #219
  • Watchers: 64,723

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