Youth
Film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	芳華
Simplified Chinese	芳华
Literal meaning	Youthfulness
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin fānghuá
Directed by	Feng Xiaogang
Written by	Geling Yan
Produced by	Wang Zhonglei
Starring	Huang Xuan Miao Miao Zhong Chuxi Yang Caiyu
Edited by	Zhang Qi
Distributed by	IM Global[1]
Release dates	September 2017 (2017-09) (TIFF) December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Budget	CN¥120 million
Box office	US$235.9 million (CN¥1.47 billion)[2]

Youth (Chinese: 芳华) is a 2017 Chinese coming-of-age drama film directed by Feng Xiaogang and written by Geling Yan.^[3] It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.^[4] It was scheduled to be released in China on October 1, 2017,^[5][6][7] but after previews in Beijing and other cities was pulled from the National Day schedule. It was released on 15 December 2017.^[8] 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. 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, and Feng Liu a morally impeccable character, whose comrades praise for being a real life Lei Feng. The pair also participate in the Sino-Vietnamese War 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