The Story of My Best Summer
My Best Summer opens on Geng Geng, a girl who considers herself unremarkable until she lands a spot at the city's most prestigious high school. That's where she meets Huai Yu, a classmate with a reputation for bullying his peers—the kind of sharp-edged teenager who seems destined for trouble. The two exist in that particular high school orbit where proximity creates an unspoken bond, even when circumstances keep them at arm's length. Then graduation happens. Life scatters. Huai Yu vanishes without explanation, leaving behind only questions and the kind of silence that stretches across years. Seven years later, Geng Geng and Huai Yu cross paths again. They're different people now—shaped by whatever happened in the time between. The film doesn't just ask "where has Huai Yu been?" It asks something harder: can you ever really go back to someone, even if you never truly left them behind?
Behind the Making of My Best Summer
Directed by Disha Zhang, My Best Summer arrived in 2019 as an adaptation of Ba Yue Chang Ahn's popular web novel With You, a work that had already cultivated a devoted fanbase online. The decision to adapt web fiction into cinema isn't casual—it signals confidence that the source material's emotional core can survive the jump to screen. Zhang assembled a cast led by Arthur Chen as Huai Yu and He Landou as Geng Geng, alongside veteran performers Kara Wai Ying-Hung, Zhou Chuchu, Wang Lingyu, Fang Wenqiang, and Gao Wenfeng. Chen's performance proved particularly noteworthy, earning him recognition as Best New Actor and establishing him as a talent worth watching in Chinese cinema. The film clocked in at 104 minutes—lean enough to maintain momentum across its dual timeline structure. Awards recognition followed: My Best Summer accumulated eight wins and two nominations across various ceremonies, a respectable showing for a romance-drama that could've easily been dismissed as YA melodrama. What's striking is that the film managed to earn critical credibility without sacrificing the emotional accessibility that made the source material resonate with readers in the first place.
Why My Best Summer Resonates Beyond Its Genre
Romance dramas live or die on their ability to make you believe in the characters' connection, and My Best Summer does something smarter than just banking on nostalgia. It uses the seven-year gap not as a plot device but as a thematic anchor—the film genuinely interrogates who these people became when nobody was looking. The visual storytelling handles the time shifts with unusual grace, letting us see echoes of the teenagers they were in the adults they've become without ever feeling heavy-handed about it. He Landou brings a quiet intelligence to Geng Geng, avoiding the trap of making her "ordinary" mean "passive." There's a specificity to her performance that suggests a character thinking, feeling, processing—not just reacting to male lead energy. Arthur Chen, for his part, carries the weight of mystery without making Huai Yu feel like a puzzle to be solved; he's just a person with a past, and that's enough. The screenplay doesn't rush to explain everything (which, honestly, is refreshing in an era of over-exposition). Instead, it trusts viewers to sit with ambiguity, to understand that real reunions are rarely neat. What makes My Best Summer stand out is that it refuses the easy emotional beats. You won't find the triumphant soundtrack swell at the moment you expect it. You'll find something messier, truer—the kind of bittersweet feeling that lingers after the credits roll.
Where to Stream My Best Summer Online
If you're ready to experience My Best Summer, you've got options. The film is currently available on Netflix, Rakuten Viki, and Prime Video, making it accessible across multiple streaming ecosystems. Whether you prefer the Netflix interface, Rakuten Viki's anime-and-international-content focus, or Prime Video's broader catalog, one of these platforms will have it ready to stream. Movie OTT tracks current streaming availability across all major services, so you can confirm exactly where it's playing in your region before you settle in. The "Where to Watch" widget at the top of this page will show you real-time availability, so you don't waste time hunting. A 104-minute runtime means it's perfect for a single evening—no commitment to a multi-season binge, just a complete emotional arc in one sitting.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is My Best Summer based on a true story?
No, it's an adaptation of Ba Yue Chang Ahn's web novel With You, which was originally published online. While it draws on universal experiences of high school romance and reconnection, the story is fictional.
Q: Who directed My Best Summer and what else has she done?
Disha Zhang directed the film. While Zhang's broader filmography isn't extensively documented in English-language sources, My Best Summer showcases a filmmaker comfortable with intimate character work and non-linear storytelling.
Q: What's the IMDb rating for My Best Summer?
The film holds a 6.1/10 rating on IMDb based on 403 votes, which positions it as a solid mid-tier drama—not universally acclaimed, but appreciated by those who connect with its particular emotional wavelength.
Q: Did Arthur Chen win awards for My Best Summer?
Yes. Chen earned recognition as Best New Actor for his role as Huai Yu, and the film itself accumulated eight wins and two nominations across various award ceremonies, validating both the cast and Zhang's direction.
Q: How long is My Best Summer?
The film runs 104 minutes, making it a compact but complete narrative that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Final Thoughts on My Best Summer
My Best Summer won't blow your mind with innovation, and it's not trying to. What it does is execute a coming-of-age reunion story with genuine emotional intelligence and restraint—two qualities that feel increasingly rare in romance cinema. It trusts its actors, trusts its audience, and trusts that the simple question of "what happened to you?" can sustain an entire film. If you're drawn to character-driven dramas that sit with complexity rather than rushing to resolve it, this is worth your time. It's the kind of film that stays with you, not because it's flashy, but because it understands something true about how people change and how the past never really leaves us alone.
