If Derek Tsang obviously excels in the art of exploring human relationships and love stories with unexpected turns, this time, he leads us to an unlikely encounter between two beings flayed by their own experience. All planted in a denunciatory and terribly heavy blackground. So denouncing that, for the film to end up in cinemas, the director had to negotiate with a censorship not at all conciliatory.
A history of harassment
Like so many others, Nian (Zhou Dongyu) focuses on preparing for gaokao (university entrance exam). A classmate commits suicide and becomes the target of intimidation. Meanwhile, fate reunites her with the petty delinquent Bei with whom she signs a pact. (Wikipedia) 
Technical fact sheet
Director : Derek Tsang Screenplay: Lam Wing-sum, Li Yuan and Xu Yimeng Photography: Yu Jing-pin Production: Hui Yuet-jan Country of origin: China Original language: Mandarin Duration: 135 minutes Release date: October 25, 2019 Adaptation of the eponymous novel by Yuexi Jiu Cast: Zhou Dongyu, Jackson Yee
Impressions
If you had the misfortune to live the censorship of a film because of a dictatorship, the impression of a few scissors strokes on the editing will quickly jump out at you. (Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in "Our Best Years". It's late at night, they both look at each other and suddenly they're having breakfast. The whole cuddle scene was deemed too daring when not even a centimeter of skin was visible) It's like a power outage that would have swallowed you a few seconds of images. As if the film had stumbled, landing in an unexpected place. The compromises required changes, deletions of scenes and even the insertion of a message like "okay, that's the way it is, but we're doing everything we can to change the situation". But if Better Days is already beautiful, what could it have been without this cultural and political guillotine? The tragic subject of bullying in schools that is drowning, in its very educational institutions, in a desire to ignore its seriousness. To override it and act as if, so as not to tarnish the reputation of the establishment. It must be said that the Hong Kong director goes hard, like a wild animal that would turn to face the situation. Direct and unfiltered reality. The famous Gaokao, national exams that will allow entry to university and determine the future of students. This subject is not only singled out, the finger in question sinks into an open and stressful wound that causes many suicides every year. 
And then, in the middle of all this, like an oasis sunk in the center of a sharp and incisive jungle, a tender and touching story between a young girl who is cruelly harassed by three of her classmates and a young thug without a future who undertakes to accompany her in her back and forth to high school. This subtle touch of sensuality (no sex between minors, that we already know) almost contemplative embarks, softens the common thread and gives us respite from the scenes of appalling brutality.
Colors and atmospheres
Extremely accurately, the director does not go beyond the main subject, the expansion of feelings always remaining perfectly in their place. This is not the first time he has worked with Yu Jing-pin, a cinematographer. Very cleverly, the scenes are delimited by colors and light. The whole part of the day is distinguished by the sky blue of the school uniforms, all bathed in a magical shine that contrasts with reality. This repetition of colors in a surreal atmosphere is heavy and endless. Like exams. And bullying, of course. For outdoor night scenes, the colors are very dark and smooth. They sometimes prevent us from perceiving what is happening with clarity. Is this intentional? A consequence due to censorship? It is true that these moments of extreme violence could prove insurmountable if they were not surrounded by confusion. But the most dazzling scenes are those where the two young people are together. The colors explode without jumping in our faces. As if we had seen only matte so far and suddenly found ourselves in front of a comforting and warm shine. The cocoon, the oasis we talked about. An imposed end that gives us a glimpse that the Ministry of Education is taking action against bullying. Ah! Always and again this story of not losing face but hey, we forgive and it was frankly to be expected. 
Jackson Yee and Zhou Dongyu
We will not remain without reference to the huge and surprising discovery of Jackson Yee, a young singer of 18 years who by his performance consolidates his status as a rising star as an actor. And then, Zhou Dongyu, of course, who always manages to give an atmosphere, a color, almost a direction to the atmosphere of a film. For all movie buffs who appreciate films from all walks of life and elsewhere, for anyone, it would be a shame to miss Better Days, to miss this expression, one could say methodical, subjects that still have trouble being taken by the seriousness we owe them. Chinese cinema shows us once again its ability to make very good films, in addition to action films, despite the limits imposed.
Hong Kong Film Awards 2020
Best Film Best Director Best Screenplay Best Actress for Zhou Dongyu Best New Performer for Jackson Yee Best Cinematography Best Costume Design and Makeup Best Original Song
2021 Oscars nomination:
Best International Film
