NYAFF 2024 Review: Carefree Days

It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen a film that could be wholly categorized as a character study. As what seems to be a theme at this year’s NYAFF, most of the movies don’t have traditional plots and are eschewing linear structure for more of a freeform examination of life. Carefree Days is very much a film like that, cut from the cloth of films such as Millennium Mambo, Happy Go Lucky, and even Le Samouraï. It doesn’t have quite the same style as those aforementioned films, but it’s not about figuring out what comes next, but rather about how to enjoy the current moment.

While there are some nitpicks I have with its pacing and general minimalist approach, I have to admit that Carefree Days seems like a film tailor-made for me. It features a rather sad set of circumstances that its protagonist must overcome before an absolutely excruciating final shot nails home the entire premise. It’s quite good.

Carefree Days
Director: Liang Ming
Release Date: September 22, 2023 (SSIFF), July 18, 2024 (NYAFF)
Country: China

Carefree Days centers on the life of Xu Linging (Lyu Xingchen), a 25-year-old girl living in the deteriorating city of Shenyang, China. Her home life is wracked with strife as her parents are in the midst of a divorce and Xu is struggling to hold down work. One day at a club, she collapses from the stage and is brought to a hospital. She learns she has been afflicted with uremia and her life begins to crumble around her. Her mom eventually passes away and her distant father comes back to care for her, leading to a complete shift in her lifestyle that is seemingly wearing her down.

While all of this is happening, Xu is consoled by her best friend, Tan Na (Li Xueqin). Tan isn’t the thinnest girl around and she often complains about how her life feels hopeless when it comes to romance. She’s been in and out of bad relationships and while Xu tells her to move on, Tan often falls into the same patterns. That detail isn’t some mistake, either, as it sets the duo up as opposites for the remainder of the film. They are close friends, but both are dealing with entirely different situations that feel like life and death.

Throughout the course of the movie, Xu becomes reacquainted with an old classmate named Zhao Dongyang (Bingrui Zhao), a man working at a funeral parlor who is going through a divorce of his own. Xu becomes partial to Zhao and there is something of a subtle romance that blooms, even if the conclusion isn’t what you’d expect. As should be clear from my intro, Carefree Days is not about anything in particular, but more an examination at how Xu reacts to situations placed in front of her.

As the Lincoln Center website so succinctly puts it, “Carefree Days is a poignant, ethereal exploration of resilience in the face of despair.” While that’s not the exact impression I got from the movie, I drew a specific parallel between Xu and Tan for a reason. Xu is looking down the path of her own mortality and deciding that she doesn’t want to give in while Tan is dealing with romance and is ready to resign to fate. These are not equal scenarios, though both girls treat them as the most important things ever.

There is some sense as the film moves on, however, that Xu is maybe coming to terms with her inevitable death. During a rather joyous dinner outing, Xu, Tan, Zhao, and Tan’s newest boyfriend all gather around to celebrate life and even plan a vacation. Xu initially suggests heading to Mohe City in North China, but Zhao informs her that it would take 20 hours by car to get there. Since Xu needs to engage in dialysis every two days, she would have to potentially put herself in harm’s way to see the sights and sounds (Xu, at first, believes in a false claim of being able to see the Northern Lights from the beach there). If she throws away her life, she can end it on a positive note with her friends rather than prolong her agony.

This is the moral quandary that Carefree Days hangs itself on. There is no right or wrong answer here as the film doesn’t make a judgment on Xu’s actions. When your life could end at a moment’s notice, does it truly matter if you skip a day of dialysis to spend it in the embrace of your friends? The memories they will have of you will last them forever, much longer than the pain of your passing. At the same time, Xu’s desire to continue living prevents her from being totally careless as she doesn’t want to give up hope that things may turn around.

I think the English title of the film is excellent as it’s an incredible misnomer. The original Chinese title, Xiao Yao You, roughly translates to “Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease,” and refers to a state of spirituality in which you are liberated from worldly worry. Carefree Days is a rather appropriate localization, but it also does not accurately explain Xu’s life. Her days are anything but carefree, with the young lady constantly facing troubles from either her ailment or her home life. Throughout the film, her father is constantly away with various women and while he does at least financially provide for Xu, he’s not entirely there emotionally.

This is a rather layered film on a thematic level. Why aren’t I rating it higher? For one, reviews aren’t a hard-and-fast rule of law or anything. My score is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. For two, I do feel the pacing at the beginning of Carefree Days is rather languid. That can occasionally work in highlighting a specific mood or tone, but I did find myself drifting in interest during the opening bits. There’s some great use of music early on, but a majority of this film is rather plain in execution as it shifts from hospitals to small restaurants and so on. It’s only in the latter part of the film that more creative imagery crops up.

I also can’t help but draw some comparisons to For Alice, another film that was featured at this year’s NYAFF. Both movies deal with young women struggling with less-than-ideal situations and while they aren’t exactly comparable, I prefer For Alice’s execution. That is not a slight against anyone in this film as lead actress Lyu Xingchen is excellent, but For Alice gets its point across in 82 minutes. Carefree Days is another 40 minutes longer and sort of belabors its point.

This is hardly a condemnation of the movie, though. I enjoyed the overall message that Carefree Days delivers, especially with its final shot. I won’t spoil what it is, but I’m always a fan of sustained camera holds that hammer home the reality someone is dealing with. There really isn’t a better way this film could have ended.

Maybe there are areas that could have been tightened up, but then Carefree Days doesn’t skimp out on the difficult details. If that’s not an accurate description of life, I don’t know what else could be.