Critics reviews

Tsang experiments with a genre-bending approach, transforming this sensitive subject matter into a teenage melodrama that in turn becomes a neo-noir crime thriller... At times [he] bites off more than he can chew, making unnecessary attempts to touch on off-topic societal issues. This results in a lack of space in which to fully develop the central narrative’s supporting characters, especially school bully Wei Lai. Despite this, Tsang’s execution largely matches his ambition.

"Better Days" isn’t without its flaws, primarily an overly-long two hour and 15-minute running time and some unnecessary chronological displacement during the final act... This aside, the film is effective and involving as the drama builds, and its ending is no less moving or thoughtful for its inevitability. This is in no small part down to the excellent work from both Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee, with Tsang getting strong and believable performances from his young leads and managing to make the two easy to root for and their relationship a winning one.

Though not very subtle in presenting its thesis, the story is generally suspenseful and well-told by young HK actor and director Tsang ("Soul Mate"). It also points an accusing finger at the extraordinary pressure that high school students are under to score high on the Chinese equivalent of SAT tests and get into universities that count.

[It is a ] gripping, superbly performed melodrama — deeply moving if occasionally overwrought... Despite an underdeveloped subplot about a serial rapist, the unnecessary emphasis of Varqa Buehrer’s sentimental scoring and some slightly overworked chronology-jumbling in order to make the pacing a bit more thrillerish, the heightened dramatic register works well overall, playing merry havoc with the heartstrings and building to a truly moving scene of mutual repudiation and cross-wired self-sacrifice in adjoining police interrogation rooms.

One of the best films of the year... “Better Days” is handsomely shot and has an affecting piano and orchestral score, but that beauty can’t cover the ugliness Tsang is exposing of bullying, in general, and of this element of Chinese society, in particular. Three years ago Tsang made “Soul Mate,” an enchanting tale about female friendship that offered an engrossing look at modern, urban China. Yet, that film isn’t quite adequate preparation for the emotional wallop of “Better Days.” Don’t think, just close your eyes, and jump in.

While "Better Days" commendably tackles thorny issues related to China’s education system and wider societal dysfunction, it’s also a commercial melodrama that trades in aesthetic slickness as much as it does in unflinching realism... Tsang flirts with indie grittiness but settles for stylised heartache as cinematographer Yu Jing-Pin captures the requisite motorcycle-riding montage and passionate clinches in just the right light. "Better Days" may slide into somewhat hollow artfulness, but it’s hard not to be moved by its genuine concerns.