Our take
Better Days tells the story of Chen Nian, a quiet girl who starts experiencing bullying at her school after her classmate commits suicide for the same reason. But soon, she meets Xiao Bei, a teenage street thug who offers her protection. What starts as a melodramatic story at first becomes a gentle romance.
Still, Better Days is focused on the psychological aspect of the characters, and how they manage pressure. It’s a reminder of the inevitable harshness of reality: dealing with poverty, bullying, and dirty competition. But, in showing the bitter aspects of life, it also shows that there are still those who care and that those who are meant to meet will always find each other.
What it won
Oscars
1 nom
The story
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.
Elsewhere
"Sociopolitically significant both on and off screen."
— Weiting Liu
"Gripping, superbly performed melodrama... deeply moving if occasionally overwrought..."
— Jessica Kiang
Who picked it
Oppie A is a contributing writer at A Good Movie to Watch, reviewing films and shows across the major streaming services.
