Youth (Hard Times) (Chinese: 青春：苦; pinyin: qīng chūn ku) is a 2024 documentary film directed by Wang Bing. It is the second entry in the director's Youth trilogy, about young Chinese textile industry workers, after the 2023 documentary Youth (Spring).
The film had its world premiere at the International Competition of the 77th Locarno Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Leopard, and was awarded a Special Mention and the FIPRESCI Prize. It was followed by Youth (Homecoming), also released in 2024.
Premise
Tensions surface between workers and factory owners in multiple textile workshops in Zhili.
Release
Youth (Hard Times) premiered on 13 August 2024 at the Locarno Film Festival. The third and final installment in the trilogy, Youth (Homecoming), debuted at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in September 2024.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 8 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades
References
External links
- Youth (Hard Times) at IMDb
