- Title: Upcoming Summer
- Also Known As: 盛夏未来, Midsummer Future, Summer in the Future, Sheng Xia Wei Lai, Sing Ha Mei Loi, 盛夏未來, 世纪末的未来, 未来的未来
- Director: Leste Chen
- Screenwriter: Shen Yang
- Genres: Coming of age, Music, Romance, School, Youth
- Country: China
- Type: Movie
- Release Date: Jul 30, 2021
- Duration: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Upcoming Summer Synopsis
Upcoming Summer is a story about two lively teenagers whose full of dreams and hope. They have reached their milestone and learn that the world isn’t made from cream and sugar. Hence, together hand in hand, they face their problems and fear.
Chen Chen (played by Zhang Zi Feng) and Zheng Yu Xing (played by Leo Wu) are 3rd grade high school students whom facing the Gaokao exam, a National College Entrance Examination in China.
Chen Chen is a studious model student. She’s been working hard to pass the exam. With the support from Chen Chen’s harmonious parents and her ability, passing the exam is just a matter of time.
But fate loves to play with her. When the exam was just around the corner, something happened.
And The Story Goes..
On one rainy night, she discovers a shocking hidden secret from her mother’s We Chat message. Feeling dejected, she jumped into the pool and soaked herself in the rain. Chen Chen got ill the next day and had to do her Gaokao exam with an IV attached. Out of everybody’s expectation, she failed the exam.
Zheng Yu Xing is a rising Tik Tok star. He had many followers who always watched his videos. His passion is music and his dream is to become a DJ, following the footsteps of his love interest, DJ Ming. As the opposite of Chen Chen, he is always the last one in his class. This free-spirited and cheeky person purposely failed his Gaokao exam.
Because Chen Chen and Yu Xing failed their exam, they must repeat their 3rd grade in the same class.
To avoid her parents nagging, Chen Chen made up a lie to her parents that the main reason why she failed the exam was because she was brokenhearted over a breakup with Zheng Xu Ying.
The lie somehow bonded them and created a friendship. Together they learn to grow up and face their fear.
Will friendship help them to be a better version of them?
Upcoming Summer Review
It was a rainy night when I was diving into Youtube music when suddenly I heard this song titled Moments by Kidnap and Leo Stannard. This song is catching my attention. So I did a quick glance at the comments section and found several comments about this song as the soundtrack of Upcoming Summer movie on Netflix. It piqued my curiosity, so I watched it.
And I was flabbergasted.
Upcoming Summer is an awesome movie. For me, who rarely watches films with teenage movie tags, Upcoming Summer is a golden gem, and I’m glad I found it. The storyline is more coming-of-age genre than romance. It was centered on Chen Chen and Zheng Yu Xing’s milestone moments.
I love this movie… I do… It brought me back to my youth (I am not that old actually… I’m just emphasizing it 😉). But seriously, this movie is great. A must-watch movie with a great soundtrack. I’m writing this review while listening to their soundtracks. The cinematography was excellent. Leo Wu and Zhang Zi Feng were such great and promising actors. I barely see any flaws in them. Kudos to them.👏
Upcoming Summer is about reaching another milestone in life. It’s about growing up.
Youth is the best time in life. It is a time when everything was colorful and lively. But when you grow up, you realize that life isn’t only made from sugar, it also feels bitter and sour. Someone once said that the hardest thing in life is growing up. And I agree with that.😔
Young vs Adults
The relationship between Chen Chen and her parents, as well as Yu Xing with his father, is a crucial matter. The adults had their own thoughts and hid them from their children. They didn’t know that it made the youngsters question things inside their hearts.
There was some unexplained matter between Yun Xing and his father. I have no idea about their relationship. Was it nice or was it a strained one? But I guess it was the latter. His father is the type of person who keeps a calm countenance in front of outsiders but suddenly broke out at home. He was defending Yu Xing when Chen Chen’s father accused Yu Xing of planning to harass Chen Chen. But when he met him, he punched him hard in the face.
Chen Chen’s parents were displaying a harmonious relationship in front of her. While the truth is, they have been separated and all this time they are just pretending to be harmonious for the sake of Chen Chen. They thought that the act was the best thing for her. But it actually hurts her. And later on, it became the root of everything that happened.
Expectations vs Realities
Meanwhile, the relationship between Chen Chen and Yu Xin was so endearing. They support each other when they have to face their fear. They have the biggest heart to face the world. No pettiness or selfishness. Only compassionate feelings for each other. My heart was bleeding at the end of the movie.
The Upcoming Summer tells us the different points of view between young people and adults. Chen Chen’s mother’s were the perfect examples of how vast the difference was. And I love the way she shifts her stance to her side. When Chen Chen finally admitted the real reason behind her exam failure, she realized that she was responsible for it.
Without further ado, she supported her and her decision. Chen Chen and her mother realized that everything comes with consequences. If they have to bear it, so be it. But I’m still crying ugly when I realize what price Yu Xing and Chen Chen must pay for their decision to face their fear.
Upcoming Summer Movie Ending
(SPOILER ALERT!!)
Chen Chen’s 18th birthday is the milestone of their life. That night, Chen Chen and Yu Xing finally admitted their own fear. Chen Chen saw her parents talking about the hardship that they had to endure by pretending in front of her. That was the time she realized that, no matter what, she had to accept that her parents were no longer together and already moving on with their lives. Meanwhile, Yu Xing finally realized that his love interest no longer likes him when his call was rejected over and over again.
There were touching moments when Cen chen and Yu Xing were sitting side by side looking at the cars passing by while talking about their problem. Chen Chen made a birthday wish for both of them. She wished that both of them could be more honest to themselves and become brave. She also admitted that she was jealous of Ming.
After that, they spontaneously decide to take a trip to meet Ming who was DJ-ing at a music festival in Sanya City. They even upload their trip on Tik Tok. Ms Qu was furious and called Chen Chen’s parents and Yu Xing’s father to meet her at school. Because of their actions, Chen Chen and Yu Xing could be expelled from school.
The Hardest Ones
At the Upcoming Music Festival, Yu Xing admitted that he couldn’t accept the fact that Ming was no longer interested in him. He also said that everything would be nice if the person who they like could like them back. After listening to it, Chen Chen finally told Yu Xing her biggest secret. She told him that she had a crush on him since junior year. They kissed, and Yu Xing said that he wished he could like her back. It was heartbreaking when Chen Chen said that they might have to learn to accept that the person who they liked did not like them back.
In this scene, we can see a glimpse of another secret that she’s been keeping. The We Chat message that she saw the night before the exam. It turned out that her parents were discussing when to tell her about their divorce and letting her choose with whom she wanted to stay. And she purposely failed her exam by erasing her answer sheet.
Their night abruptly ended when their parents found them. Chen Chen’s mother hugs her, while Yu Xing’s father punches him. Chen Chen’s mother’s lover, Uncle Wang, tried to stop him from beating Yu Xing.
Shocking Tragedy
At the hotel, Chen Chen was forced to sign an agreement stating that Yu Xing had been harassing her since the start of the school year and he was willing to accept the school punishment. Cen Chen refused to sign it and told her mother the real reason why she failed the exam on purpose. It was to give them another year, so they could be reconciled and she no longer had to choose between her father or mother.
Chen Chen didn’t want to lie anymore, if she had to be expelled, she would accept it. With teary eyes, Chen Chen’s mother accepted her decision. At the same time, Yu Xing suddenly collapsed after he said that he might have lost his left hearing because of the blow from his father. Chen Chen and Yu Xing dropped out of school since then.
The Dream Came True
Three years later, Chen Chen was walking into a music festival. The same Upcoming Music Festival that she attended with Yu Xing. She was standing in front of the poster of DJ XYZ, Yu Xing’s stage name. It turns out that everything got back to its track. She was taking the academic path and Yu Xing became a famous DJ, with only one hearing.
My Thought About The Ending
TBH, I was not expecting the ending to be so abrupt. I thought Chen Chen and Yu Xing’s friendship would last long enough for us to see. It might be a platonic love, since there were rumors flying across the internet about the hidden message of Yu Xing’s sexuality. His love interest, DJ Ming, was never proclaimed as a girl nor a boy. And Ming’s figure and voice also remain a mystery.
It’s sad to know that all this time Chen Chen has kept her feelings for Yu Xing. She told her friends that she didn’t know Yu Xing, but in reality, she secretly watched his videos on Tik Tok. She might feel sad every time Yu Xing talks about Ming. But I could see that her feeling was genuine. Because she sincerely wants to help and support him so he can have a better life. I love her sooo much… 🥰
After what happened at the hotel, Yu Xing might have continued his studies abroad because his father could afford it, while Chen Chen remained in China. I have no idea how she continues her formal school because she dropped out. But, later she was able to finish the Gaokao exam and continue her studies at university, so it might not be a big problem.
Lessons For All of Us
Upcoming Summer also provides a lesson to learn for the adults. Sometimes, parents or adults are too carried away by the thought that they know all the right things for the youngster. But it doesn’t always work that way. In the last school scene, Ms Qu started to remind her class about their focus. The student’s answer made her realize that they DO remember their goal.
They understand that they should focus on studying and passing the exam. They don’t need constant reminders, because the goal is already attached to them. But, as humans, they also need to live their lives. They deserve to have some fun. It is their right to celebrate their life, their friendship, their love. They need to feel the happiness and the bitterness of life. Therefore, they will have enough experience to enter adulthood.
The Conclusion
I love this movie!
It was awesome and definitely worth my time.
The story of Chen Chen and Yu Xing was not a cliché teenage romance. It was far from that. Upcoming Sumer tells us a story about friendship, a special bond that they share only in a short moment. But it brings a huge impact on both of them and everyone around them. You might think that they were too emotional or short tempered to throw their time away just like that, but it was a part of being young.
The bitterness that somehow would shape them into what they become now.
Chen Chen and Yu Xing tell us that taking the wrong path or failing at something is just a part of life. What matters is how you will respond. Are you brave enough to face it?
