''Youth'' () is a 2017 Chinese

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician. He is well known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box of ...

and written by Geling Yan. It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the

2017 Toronto International Film Festival The 42nd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 7 to 17 September 2017. There were fourteen programmes, with the Vanguard and City to City programmes both being retired from previous years, with the total number of films down b ...

. It was scheduled to be released in China on October 1, 2017, but after previews in Beijing and other cities was pulled from the National Day schedule. It was released on 15 December 2017. It was the 6th highest-grossing domestic film of 2017 in China.

Synopsis

The film chronicles the lives of a group of idealistic adolescents in a military art troupe in the People's Liberation Army during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. They experience love, lust, betrayal, and sufferings in the background of Mao-era songs and dances. Through the narration of Xiao Suizi, the film follows the story of two key characters, Feng Liu and Xiaoping He. Xiaoping He, a naive, and innocent new recruit from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and Feng Liu a morally impeccable character, whose comrades praise for being a real life

Lei Feng Lei Feng (18 December 194015 August 1962) was allegedly a soldier in the People's Liberation Army who was the object of several major propaganda campaigns in China. The most well-known of these campaigns in 1963 promoted the slogan, "Follo ...

. The pair also participate in the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...

in 1979 and become heroes for their act of courage. Xiaoping He eventually becomes the target of her roommates bullying for her provincial naive mannerisms. A majority of the acts spearheaded by Hao Shuwen, the daughter of the regional commander. After the war, they are honorably discharged from the Army but struggle to make ends meet in the Reform-era China while they learn lessons from soul-crushing experiences of love, lust, betrayal, and heartbreak.

Cast

* Huang Xuan (黄轩) as Liu Feng (刘峰) * Miao Miao (苗苗) as He Xiaoping (何小萍) * Zhong Chuxi (钟楚曦) as Xiao Suizi (萧穗子) * Yang Caiyu (杨采钰) as Lin Dingding (林丁丁) *Li Xiaofeng (李晓峰) as Hao Shuwen (郝淑雯) *Wang Tianchen (王天辰) as Chen Can (陈灿) *Wang Keru (王可如) as Xiao Balei (小芭蕾) *Su Yan (苏岩) as the dance teacher *Zhao Lixin (赵立新) as the commissar * Sui Yuan (隋源) as Zhuoma (卓玛) *Zhang Renbo (张仁博) as Zhu Ke (朱克) * Zhou Fang (周放) as the head nurse * Xue Qi (薛祺) as Secretary Wu (吴干事) * Yang Shuo (杨烁) as the military chief * Tao Hai (陶海) as the Psychiatrist

Awards and nominations

References

Externals

* {{Authority control 2017 films Chinese coming-of-age drama films Films directed by Feng Xiaogang Films with screenplays by Geling Yan Huayi Brothers films Films about communism Films set in the 1970s Sino-Vietnamese War films 2010s coming-of-age drama films Asian Film Award for Best Film winners 2017 drama films 2010s Mandarin-language films