Our Shining Days (2017) (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

Chen Jing (Xu Lu, Tribe and Empires: Storm of Prophecy) is an optimistic yet aimless music student who plays the yangqin, a traditional hammered dulcimer. To impress her love interest Wang Wen (Luo Mingjie), a cold and supercilious piano major, Jing recruits her buddy Li You (Peng Yuchang, Go Princess Go) and a group of cosplay-loving outcasts to form a traditional music ensemble. Since Wang Wen rebuffs her love, Jing decides to disband the group. However, after learning that their department will be closed, Jing and other traditional music students battle against the arrogant classical students to prove themselves and the value of traditional Chinese music.

The film creatively combines traditional music with modern music and ACG (Anime, Comic and Games) culture. At the comics and animation festival, Jing and her friends perfectly show the adaptability of traditional music through their powerful performance of the viral Chinese anime theme "Sun Quan the Emperor," an ancient-style number featuring cool electric guitar tunes. The two departments' fierce battle also displays the harmonization between traditional and classical music. Flight of the Bumblebee is a famous classical number known for its frantic tempo, while A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix is a representative suona piece that features a lot of ad lib. The two completely unrelated songs are refreshingly merged together.

Despite the film's clichéd dream-chasing storyline, writer Bao Jingjing (Love Is Not Blind) and rookie director Wang Ran use entertaining ACG elements and the amusing subplot of Chen Jing's one-sided love to enliven the serious discussion about musical equality. Our Shining Days not only promotes traditional Chinese music, but it carries an even bigger message: all dreams deserve respect.