Starting in 2004 Ambrica began filming nine Chinese Gen X’ers at home and at work, returning once a year to record the changes in their lives. The film tracks four wildly ambitious graduates, a media savvy hip hop artist, two migrant workers living precariously on society’s edge, a dedicated medical resident and a courageous environmental activist. What happens along the way is surprising: some find themselves torn between traditional culture and tantalizing new opportunities; several begin the heady ride to wealth and power. Some find love and resolve family conflicts, and others seem likely to crash and burn along the way. Young and Restless In China is buoyed by a driving sound track of Chinese rock and hip hop music and scenes of Chinese life rarely seen in the West. As we watch these young people work, hang out with family and friends, sing karaoke or launch their first business, we come to know them in a rare, intimate way.
Their stories of ambition, exuberance, crime and corruption are interwoven with moments of love, heartbreak and passion.
In riveting emotional detail, Young and Restless In China captures the highs and lows of coming of age that are at times intimately familiar and also decidedly new.