Hong (Nelson
Yung) is a typical teenage lad with a number of familiar problems. His
girlfriend Kaka (Louise Wong) gives him constant grief and criticism, while his
friends hop on the train at weekends to go and bang hookers in the Mainland.
His dad (Tai Po) drinks too much while his mum (Letty Lo) just watches TV all
day and the only person who understands him is his literature teacher, Mr.
Chong (Joey Leung) - but he's asked Hong to baby-sit "Spiderman", the weird kid
everyone bullies, because his mum's a cleaner at their high school. When Mr.
Chong is killed in a traffic accident, in which Hong is also involved, he
agrees to take a trip north with his friends, only to meet a mainland girl who,
on the surface at least, seems a lot less trouble than his girlfriend back in
Hong Kong.
GLAMOROUS YOUTH is, for the most part, a valiant effort to make a real
Hong Kong "yoof" picture. It really understands its young characters in a way
few local movies seem to, putting school, relationships, money and work under
the microscope in a way that teenagers might genuinely recognise and relate to.
It's filmed very naturalistically, unobtrusively, taking its time to observe the characters rather than manipulate them. The performances are solid for the most part and the largely improvised dialogue retains a refreshing degree of honesty. It's also quite explicit for a Hong Kong movie, featuring enough graphic teen sex to garner it a Category III rating, but while it can't help but evoke the work of Larry Clark, this never threatens to go into such murky territory.
The film steers clear of any references to drugs, crime, triads, suicide or other common youth dilemmas, content to focus solely on relationship problems - between Hong and his parents, teachers, friends and women. It might have benefited from a broader scope and dug deeper into some of the aforementioned vices. Hong's best-friend Dai-hong would have been a perfect candidate to become embroiled in some low-level gang affiliation, but what the film does address, it does so in an intelligent and non-condescending manner.
Sadly, however, while first-time writer/director Philip Yung clearly understands teenagers, their problems and lifestyles and gives some pretty intelligent advice, he doesn't have a clue how to talk to them about it. The film suffers greatly from very slow pacing and at well over two hours, has probably managed to successfully alienate its intended demographic. It is genuinely surprising that the film's producer, acclaimed filmmaker Ann Hui, didn't have a quiet word in her protégé's ear to suggest that if the film lost half an hour, it would stand a far better chance of being seen and appreciated by those who will benefit most from it.
GLAMOROUS YOUTH is often attractive to look at but never kinetic and has overly artsy aspirations. Too often it feels like the director is more interested in playing to the industry and the critics, rather than the kids, which is a great shame, as the messages he puts forward for them are often refreshingly resonant.