Curator Watchlist
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… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Fri · 2h 15m
Director: Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung
Starring: Zhou Dongyu, Jackson Yee, Yin Fang
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.
Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung
Zhou Dongyu, Jackson Yee, Yin Fang
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?!"
ji (3★) · 1279 likes
“keep walking. i’ll be right behind you.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡠⠴⠒⠚⠛⠉⠉⠛⠛⠒⠲⢤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠴⠊⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠙⠢⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠔⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠈⠱⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡰⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠈⢦⠀⠀⠀⣰⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⢧⠀⣴⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠈⣆⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⢿⣟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢸⢿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣴⣾⠃⠀⠀⠀⣿⣦⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⣾⠘⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠿⠿⠟⠋⠁⠀⣰⣆⠀⠀⠙⠻⠿⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⢠⠏⠀⠹⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⣿⢿⣧⠀⠀⢠⠏⠘⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⡞⠀⠀⠀⠱⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠁⠈⠛⠁⠀⢼⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⠞⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠢⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠲⠶⠋⠀ ⢀⡴⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠒⢄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⣠⠔⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠑⠒⠦⢤⣤⣀⣀⣤⢤⠤⠖⠚⠉⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A sprawling, tragic youth drama about alienation, violence, and the pressures that shape adolescents into adults.
A foundational coming-of-age film about a boy crushed by neglect, misunderstanding, and social systems.
Raw, intimate teenage realism with emotional volatility and a strong sense of social entrapment.
A grim, unflinching look at teen cruelty and the catastrophic consequences of group violence.
Lyrical adolescent melancholy with a fatalistic sense of innocence under pressure.
A harsh portrait of youth, vulnerability, and the dangers surrounding teenagers with little protection.
Quietly devastating social realism centered on a young woman navigating fear, shame, and institutional indifference.
A volatile, emotionally raw study of adolescence, peer pressure, and self-destruction.
A sensitive teen drama about trauma, friendship, and the search for safety among outsiders.
An empathetic story about bullying, guilt, and the possibility of redemption after cruelty.
An intense, emotionally immersive coming-of-age romance shaped by longing and pain.
A sharp, humanistic look at youth, authority, and the social hierarchies that define school life.
bullying, teenage isolation, first love, social pressure, exam anxiety, class tension, violence and vulnerability, institutional failure
coming-of-age, teen drama, crime drama, romantic tragedy, bullying, school pressure, social realism, melancholy, emotional, contemporary China