Adi vividly remembers the moment his mom left home. He was four. She cut off a lock of her hair, tied a red thread around it, and walked out with a luggage bag. For 11 years, she didn’t return. Now fifteen, Adi resents his mother as much as he misses her. He roams the streets with a biker gang and pours his energy into streaming in drag on social media. Baima Boy began from the contemporary Chinese phenomenon of nearly 60 million children left behind in rural towns by parents seeking work in cities. In truth, Adi’s situation is too complex to be considered typical. Above all, he is such a dramatic character, as if several fictional lives have been layered into one, that watching him stirs up a flood of emotions. Following Adi from ages 15 to 18 through the seasons, the film finally shines in its last moments when he declares that he is no longer who he once was. Baima Boy is a sharp sketch of contemporary China and a brilliant coming-of-age drama. (KANG Sowon)