Upcoming Summer

Leste Chen's 2021 Chinese film follows the friendship between two young people at the end of secondary school. When a small lie told by Chen Chen produces unexpected results, a deep bond forms between her and Zheng Yuxing, tested by exam pressure, family expectations and the harshness of growing up. The story belongs to the most common template in recent Chinese youth cinema: nostalgia, examinations and loss. Zhang Zifeng's performance forms the emotional centre. Leste Chen's visual language is soft and controlled, with summer light and school corridors setting the tone. The film's problem is turning to melodrama in the final section and undoing the plainness established earlier. It is also noticeable that some subjects pass only by implication, because of censorship conditions. Who it's for: viewers who like Chinese youth drama and school-era nostalgia. Who it's not for: anyone who dislikes melodramatic resolutions, or who will object to death being used as a device.