School, future and bullies.
A teenage girl who’s very smart is bullied at school after a girl at school took her own life. Now she is being bullied by three girls who bullied the girl who took her own life. But then she meets a boy who lives on the wrong side of the law, and he becomes her protector. But she must also prepare for her college entrance exam, and the question is if her situation will ruin her future. Will she handle the pressure with the bullying and the college entrance exam that is waiting? Or will it be too much for her to handle?
Better Days is a solid movie which unfortunately is hindered by the Chinese censorship system. That’s nothing new. This would have been a real classic if the movie hadn’t been tampered with. I’m sure of that.
The topic is bullying, and how far someone is willing to go to ruin the future of others just because they are mentally ill. It always hurts to see people who don’t fight back. They have nothing to lose in my eyes. Just fight back! Don’t back down!
We see a system failing, something that’s happening all over the world. The special thing about Better Days is the close bond between the girl who’s bullied and the teenage boy who becomes her protector. She has the entire future ahead of her. He will probably die young or end up in prison for the rest of his life.
The two leading actors are amazing in their roles. We are talking about talents, especially the young girl who’s played by Dongyu Zhou. She was born in 1992, but she looks much younger and she delivers a fantastic role interpretation that you will always remember.
I felt like I saw a masterpiece until there were 25 minutes left. Then you notice a change of tone, and that the Chinese censorship apparatus had to intervene so as not to send the wrong message. I’m so tired of Winnie the Pooh and his mentally ill goons. It’s a shame that assholes like Winnie the Pooh will not disappear soon, so Chinese moviemakers are allowed to make the movies they want to without the stupid and insane censorship. Go fighting Hong Kong and Taiwan! Never give in to these crazy assholes!
But Better Days also have another problem. The girls who bully the protagonist behave like they are crazy cartoon characters. Couldn’t they have toned them down? They are so crazy, stupid, and evil. The movie would have been better without these crazy bitches.
This is a strong and provocative movie that visually looks good, and it has a fantastic score. This would have been my favorite movie of 2019. But because of an ending that doesn’t feel right, it will at least be in my top 10 or maybe top 5.