9 Youth-themed Chinese Films & Dramas

There are many, many more youth-themed Chinese films and dramas that came out over the years but these are the ones I've watched and remembered to include. I typically prefer the melancholic, sentimental ones because I like some angst in my entertainment. These films usually share very similar premises and tones, and they often have ambiguous or tragic ends. So if you're looking for a happy ending, this isn't it. You watch it for the characters falling in an earnest, awkward first love, having the time of their lives with their good friends, and for it all to unravel as they inevitably grow up. Most of these are also book adaptations. 

Watch

Our Times (2015)
This is such a classic and a favourite of mine that I can't not include it. Despite the film being set in the 90s, the familiarity of what the protagonist goes through is universal. I immediately see myself in Lin Chen Xin, the bespectacled plain girl with the biggest crush on the school's cutest boy, who has mentally married superstar Andy Lau out of his million fans (mine was Lee Hom). There were moments that required a suspension in belief and a not entirely satisfying ending (you'll see what I mean), but Vivian Sung and Darren Wang's chemistry makes it incredibly worth your time. The theme song is lovely.

Fleet of Time (2014)

This is the second youth-themed film I've watched that really sold me on the genre. I loved how sentimental this was, and this was also grittier and more realistic. The main characters weren't black-and-white kind people. They were just human, complex and contradictory, which was what I thought made this film a nice watch. This stars Eddie Peng, so there, decision made. Adapted from a same-name book by Jiu Ye Hui.

15 Years Waiting for Migratory Bird (2016)

This is a drama where you just want to give the girl a much-needed hug. How can a girl be so pitiful? It's a tearjerker but it hurts so good. I particularly enjoyed Zhang Ruo Yun's performance as the playful, charming Pei Shang Xuan who had to grew up too soon after a single mistake changed his entire life. Watch out for the ending though. Based on the book by Ying Feng.

The Way We Were (2014)

The drama wins the award for the messiest friendship ever, but I didn't mean that in a bad way. There were a lot of entanglements and misdirection but this drama has some of the loveliest depiction of friendship at the height of their youth. With such genre, a beautiful past is what justifies longing in the present and this drama really nailed it. If anything, the theme song Let's Not Be Friends Next Time is worth a listen, and another, and another.

Maybe

You're The Apple of My Eye (2011)
I believe this was the film that really kickstarted the youth-themed, nostalgia wave? It was widely popular when it was released but I never did watch it because I was a hipster reasons. I watched snippets of it here and there and heard so much about it from my classmates that I felt like I had known so much of it that watching felt a little pointless. It's a certified classic though so it should be good. Based on the book Those Years, The Girl We Courted Together by Giddens Ko.

So Young (2013)
Watched this because it was Zhao Wei's directional debut and the only problem I have with the film is that I didn't like the story. I even found the protagonist a little embarrassing for how she pestered one of the male lead. With this genre, it's all about execution and it fell a little flat for me. Based on the book To Our Youth that is Fading Away by Xin Yi Wu.

My Old Classmate (2014)
A studious girl falls for her troublemaking seatmate. I don't remember the details of the story but I do remember liking it, so it couldn't be that bad. Maybe it's my soft spot for Lin Geng Xin and Zhou Dong Yu speaking. Oh, it's also quite unapologetic in its refusal to whitewash the realities of life so maybe don't watch when you're having a quarter-life crisis.

Maybe... not

Days of Our Own (2016)
It's amazing how little happened on screen in such a long time period (the film covers 10 years of their lives). There was no build-up to how the characters fell for each other, only that they did. It also didn't felt like these characters loved each other for years and years and I ended up not caring if they would end happily. What I was invested in though was the protagonist's character growth. She went from being a university dropout to a part-timer to a successful career woman. I was so proud of her the entire way.

Never Gone (2016)

Watch if you want to pop a vein. Based on the book by Xin Yi Wu.