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Well Go U.S.A. Press Release: Better Days (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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“ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR”

~ Houston Chronicle


“Tsang brings something visceral to his story of bullying and revenge where all too many might be satisfied to make it easier for the squeamish to grapple with.” ~ eFilmCritic


BETTER DAYS


Acclaimed Drama from Director Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang

Debuts on Digital & Blu-ray™ May 5


Bonus Materials Include a “Making-of” Featurette



PLANO, TEXAS. (March 27, 2020) – In the dramatic thriller BETTER DAYS, debuting on digital and Blu-ray May 5 from Well Go USA Entertainment, a bullied teenage girl forms an unlikely friendship with a mysterious young man who protects her from her assailants, all while she copes with the pressures of her final examinations. Director Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang (Soulmate) paints a bleak picture of an oppressive society, in the guise of a gripping fairy-tale love story, exposing the dark world of bullying and societal pressures of achievement facing today’s youth. BETTER DAYS acclaimed cast includes Zhou Dongyu (Kung Fu Monster, The Thousand Faces of Dunjia, Soulmate) and C-pop superstar Jackson Yee (TFboys, GG Bond: Guarding). Bonus materials include a “making-of” featurette.


A favorite with critics and audiences alike, BETTER DAYS is currently rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, with an audience score of 97%. In addition, the film won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress at the 2020 Hong Kong Directors Guild Awards, was named a “Film of Merit” and won Best Director at the 2020 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards and took home 2020 China Film Critics Association awards for Actress of the Year (Zhou Dongyu) and Best New Performer (Jackson Yee).


Synopsis:

Nian finds her life at a standstill when facing relentless bullying from her peers as she prepares for her college entrance exam. Fate brings her together with small-time criminal Bei, but before they can retreat into a world of their own, both are dragged into the middle of a murder investigation that will change their lives forever.


Country of Origin: China


BETTER DAYS is not yet rated and has a run time of approximately 135 minutes.



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JoeStemme

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Derek Tsang's Oscar Nominated (Best International Film) is an impassioned look at school bullying. The movie can be unsparing in depiction of the maltreatment, and, at times it seems like life for our teenage heroine Chen Nian (Dongyu Zhou) is nothing but abuse, whether it be physical or psychological. Still, Tsang brings to it a style and a sweep that is emotionally satisfying all the while.

Chen is a smart high school student on the verge of taking the national college entrance boards - think SAT but done on a Super Bowl level*. The pressures are enormous enough without having a nasty gang of Heathers using all kinds of tactics to make her life miserable. Chen strikes up an unlikely relationship with a street hustler named Xiao Bei (Jackson Yee) and he agrees to be her personal bodyguard of sorts.

The scenes with Chen and Xiao give Tsang an opportunity to really show off his visual skills, even if some of it seems cribbed from Wong Kar-Wai (he is hardly the first, of course, look no further than Sofia Coppola). Varqa Beuher's electronic score adds to the propulsive mix. Tsang also employs time jumps and a lot of cross-cutting - not always to the movie's advantage. A third act twist somewhat derails the story into legal thriller territory. Still, there is no denying Tsang's prowess even at its most overwrought. Zhou is in her late 20s, but, her waif-like appearance easily convinces that she is 17, and her performance is extremely affecting. HK teen idol Yee has a good screen presence to add to their screen chemistry.

BETTER DAYS tells a universal story about bullying, but, it has a vision of its own. Tough subject matter, but, a very rewarding one.

* There has been some internet controversy about Jiu Yuexi's source novel that the movie is based on being unduly influenced by a similar Japanese book by author Higashino Keigo. Of course, in Japan, the national exams are perhaps the most famously hellish in the world.
 

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