Movie · 2019 · Drama, Crime, Romance · 2h 15m · NR · Chinese
Curator score: 9.2/10 (133.3K ratings)
You protect the world. I'll protect you.
Overview
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.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.2/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 4.18/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 83
TMDB: 8.1/10
Director
Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung
Production
Shooting Pictures, China Wit Media, Tianijn Xiron Entertainment, We Pictures, Haojiahuo Pictures, He Nan Dian Ying Dian Shi Zhi Zuo Ji Tuan
Cast
Zhou Dongyu, Jackson Yee, Yin Fang, Huang Jue, Wu Yue, Zhou Ye, Zhang Yifan, Liu Ran, Zhang Xinyi, Zhao Runnan, Gao Xuanming, Xie Xintong, Li Wenyu, Chen Nan, Cheng Yuanshou, Liu Haolan, Yang Siyu, Deng Zhengyu, Liu Qing, Yin Ruilin
Where to watch
Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A devastating, emotionally charged coming-of-age thriller that blends school bullying, romance, and social pressure into a tense, tear-streaked melodrama. It’s especially strong for viewers who want a prestige-level youth drama with real urgency, strong performances, and a bleak but compassionate view of how cruelty metastasizes.
Best for
fans of intense coming-of-age dramas
viewers drawn to bullying and social-issue stories
audiences who like tragic romance with thriller elements
people interested in contemporary Chinese cinema
viewers who don’t mind emotionally punishing films
Skip if
you want a light or uplifting teen drama
you’re sensitive to bullying, assault, or sustained distress
you prefer subtle, low-key storytelling over heightened melodrama
you want a clean romance without crime or tragedy
Overview
Better Days is a bruising, highly effective blend of teen melodrama and social realism. It starts with the familiar pressures of exam season and school cruelty, then steadily tightens into something far more desperate, where every act of kindness feels hard-won and every mistake carries consequences.
Worth noting
What makes it land is the emotional precision: the performances are raw without feeling manipulative, and the central relationship has enough tenderness to keep the film from collapsing under its own darkness. The movie understands how bullying isolates its victims, but it also shows how shame, class pressure, and institutional indifference can make that isolation feel inescapable.
Bottom line
This is not an easy watch, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise. But for viewers open to a tragic, cathartic experience, it’s one of the most affecting youth dramas of recent years, with the kind of final stretch that lingers long after the credits.
Top Letterboxd reviews
oppie (3.5★) · 3005 likes
jackson yee if you want to follow me home i have a plan on thursday night so please follow me home on thursday night i need protection jackson yee
logan (5★) · 2975 likes
you’re the first person who asked if it hurts
Fiqryz (4★) · 2366 likes
"Better Days" my ass
تركي (5★) · 1338 likes
"If this is how the world works, would you bring a child into it?!"