It’s been a long time since we’ve had a film about local teen angst this engaging. “High Noon,” the Hong Kong adaptation of Eric Tsang’s recent Taiwanese success, “Winds of September,” follows the coming-of-age of nine high-school friends. Young female director Heiward Mak looks at crumbling friendships, doomed love affairs, family tragedies, teen pregnancy, teen homicide, drugs, and Edison-style sex clip leaks. All of the action is seen through the eyes of the young protagonists, while taking witty, sarcastic potshots at the adult world. The result isn’t another humdrum lecture on juvenile delinquency and its supposed causes, but a provocative, bittersweet symphony that movie-goers of all ages will respond to.

The film takes place in the leadup to the Beijing Olympics. Lo Wing (Lam Yiu-sing) is starting a new life after transferring to a Band 3 school for his HKCEE year. He quickly falls in with a motley crew, and soon his days as a model student couldn’t seem further away. To describe the drama that unfolds would be to give too much away. Suffice to say, as the film’s tagline puts it, “there’s one ridiculous event after another every day,” and soon each of the characters finds themself hurtling down their own seemingly unstoppable paths to heartbreak.

The storyline is entirely believable, and supported throughout by solid research and careful observation of local teenage slang, and the lethal “games” they play. My outreach social worker friend confirmed that many of the scenes in this film were all too real. The young cast of unknowns is also convincing. Producer and veteran actor Eric Tsang specifically chose new faces for the film to create fresh opportunities for unknown talents. They are certainly off to a promising start.

5 Stars by June Ng.

Directed by Heiward Mak. Starring Lam Yiu Sing, Anjo Leung, Sham Ka Ki, Jeremy Liu, Rex Wu, Chan Yiu Wing, Huen Tin Yeung, Claudia Yu, Venus Wong, Becky Lee. Category III. 110 minutes.