THE title of Sue Williams’ “Young & Restless in China” might lead you to believe that the characters in the long-running soap opera have moved to Beijing.
They haven’t, of course. Williams’ nonfiction film is, in fact, a portrait of nine Gen Xers caught in China’s rush into the future. (“Get rich as fast as you can, and have a good life,” one proclaims.)
Her subjects include a businessman hoping to start a Starbucks-like chain of Internet cafes, a migrant worker whose parents are pushing her into an arranged marriage, and a rapper whose lyrics are inspired by real life.
Williams should have used subtitles, rather than Western voices, to translate the words of her talking heads. Still, her film is a timely look at the massive changes overtaking China.
Running time: 144 minutes. Not rated (nothing objectionable). At Cinema Village, 12th Street, east of Fifth Avenue.