The Age of 14 or 15 = Shi si wu sui

Over the past hundred years, the age of 14 has become an extremely influential period in the average educated Chinese person’s life. In Europe, the US or Australia, a whole genre of films have sought to capture this right of passage in a young person’s life, where they explore their changing bodies, their own sense of identity and the world of ideas and morality. But these experiences don’t even count for small change in China.

A boarding school filled with young adults might invite these connotations in Western countries, however we are shown this period is influential for completely different reasons in the PRC. The beginning of junior high means the pressure is really on: From this moment on, the young teens face extreme competition with one another in order to excel in their studies and make the grade for the best possible high-school, which is the only way of standing a chance at university admission.

It is therefore a period of both extreme tension and vigorous excitement. No longer treated as children, these young adults feel that they have been invested with the responsibility for their own fate. However, the film also highlights the commonplace attitude — especially among children from rural areas — where they vow to commit suicide if they do not achieve the necessary grade for the best high school.

With this said, we might expect the schools to be churning out utter monsters. Quite the opposite, in fact. Indeed, the extreme pressure and excitement of this time inspires a deep sense of cameraderie between them, as they recognise that they are not alone in their struggle. Of course, competition always manages to bring out the worst antisocial traits in a select few, but the group overall are seen to flourish, often going to great pains to stick their neck out for each other.

The film explains the powerful bond made between friends and classmates of these years, and how struggle is not only a necessary part of life, but teaches us how to empathise with others and work together. The contemporary view of this film is more likely to equate to something like: Harry Potter, with no magic, in Communist China.

Among the film’s many themes it examines antisocial personality traits, with plenty of cheating in basketball games, skirting labor, cherrypicking others’ praise, taking advantage of the latitudes of the system, etc. However, we are expected to understand that, in all these situations, it is the Truth which shines through in the long run to reveal people’s true intentions and motives.

Although the children are shown to celebrate their 14th year, it would be more realistic to see this as an expression of general nostalgia for those who have left those more simple times behind. The film, therefore, advocates that this is the time young people should appreciate fully the joy of being alive before moving on to a glorious future (something that any young person can expect to be told by their elders).
(3 stars - James Donald; June 10, 2011)