Scenes from Rebellious Teenagers

Photos: Courtesy of the ShanZhongMu Film Company

"A troubled child is the product of troubled parents."

This line from the film Rebellious Teenagers perfectly captures the message that the movie's filmmakers hope to portray in their film.

One of the films shown at the special screening section of the Beijing College Student Film Festival, Rebellious Teenagers marks the directorial debut of 24-year-old Xie You, who recently received his BA in industrial design from Guangzhou Province's Sun Yat-Sen University.

Adapted from the novella Mama Bushi Wo Sha De (I'm not the one who killed mom), written by journalist-turned novelist and mother to the film's director Pei Bei, the film focuses on two Chinese junior high school students - Wang Ququ and Han Youyou - and their families.

A rebellious teenaged boy, Wang often skips classes to spend his time playing online games in an Internet cafe. While at home, his family is on the verge of falling apart; his mother is addicted to playing mahjong and his father is barely, if ever, home. In his attempts to gain the attention of his parents, Wang is constantly causing trouble both in and out of school. Han, on the other hand, behaves as a young lady is expected to behave: She is obedient, studies hard and works endlessly to fulfill the expectations of her parents.

After Wang transfers to Han's school, the two become desk-mates and soon friends. As the story progresses a budding romance begins to grow.

The first big screen film for this post-1980s generation filmmaker, it is exciting to see a film that touches on social problems such as teenage rebellion, Internet addiction, high pressure education and dysfunctional families. Another brave move is the film's focus on romance between young students, a sensitive subject that has been intentionally avoided in China's TV and film industry.

Rebellious Teenagers also looks to challenge the traditional concept of what makes a "good student."

As a result of the one child policy, most children born during or after the 1980s must bear the entire burden of their parents' expectations on their shoulders alone.

Han is one such example. Despite achieving high grades at school, her father has high demands for her outside of school as well, such as taking piano, becoming a Math Olympiad and learning calligraphy. Meanwhile, back at home he refuses to let her go online due to fears that she'll come across "unhealthy" information on the Web.

Although a little exaggerated, Han's story in the film reflects the abnormal standards that students in China must try and live up to.

Pei, also a producer on the film, explained after the screening last week that this original story came from her previous experiences as a reporter.

"I saw a boy, who had knife cuts on his arm. He did that to himself," Pei said. This same behavior is replicated in the film by Wang.

Despite taking on some challenging topics, the film is not without flaws.

Set to be shown in theaters during the big summer blockbuster season, the filmmakers had to make several compromises, such as making sure both families get a happy ending. However, this tonal shift from dark to bright happens too quickly and therefore is extremely jarring. Additionally, by trying to cover so many social issues in a mere two hours, the film is unable to take an in-depth look at any one issue.

"We encountered several big roadblocks," Pei told the Global Times, when asked whether the sensitive topics portrayed in the film made the film difficult to make.

"We made many different cuts of the film, each trying to deal with the different problems that we encountered along the way," Pei said, admitting that the final version "contradicts itself."

Pei explained that they were forced to make this change in order to ensure an economic return for investors, and that she hopes she can find a better solution for any films she produces in the future.