IDOL YOUTH: The four protagonists in Tiny Times are all played by currently popular Chinese stars (FILE)

The extravagant lifestyles and worship of wealth were recently captured in the sensational film Tiny Times, adapted from 30-year-old writer Guo Jingming's serial novels of the same name and directed by the writer himself.

The movie smashed box-office records for a non-3D release in China by taking 73 million yuan ($11.9 million) during its debut alone on June 27. The following week, it pulled in 360 million yuan ($58.7 million) and by July 25, 482 million yuan ($78.6 million), knocking aside Hollywood blockbuster Superman: Man of Steel.

A division of opinions

Despite its success, Tiny Times has sharply divided public opinion. On the one hand, mainstream viewers and critics have commented on the film's shallow approach, inexplicable storyline, childish characters and lavish lifestyles. On the other hand, millions of loyal young fans have eagerly defended their idol.

The movie is centered on four college girls, close friends since high school, with different personalities and family backgrounds. Its plot covers friendship, love and careers. Lin Xiao, played by popular movie star Yang Mi, gets a part-time job as a personal assistant to an austere, half-Asian, half-European editor of a luxury fashion magazine M.E. Gu Li, played by Amber Kuo, is rich and arrogant, but often lends Lin and other friends a helping hand during times of difficulties.

Producers define the film as China's Gossip Girl or Sex and the City, both of which showcase the lives of the wealthy. Guo hopes the stories of love between these pretty girls and handsome boys in an upper-class setting finds resonance with his post-80s and 90s generation of fans.

However, the lavish lifestyles in Tiny Times are more like daydreams to most youngsters. All characters are gorgeously dressed. Lin's boss Gong Ming lives in a house built of glass and drives a Bentley. Even a glass he drinks water from is worth 30,000 yuan ($4,890). In addition, Lin and her friends are kitted out in LV handbags, Chanel blankets, Gucci stilettos as well as other fancy designer items.

The film not only showcases lavish living, but also the worship of money among today's youth. It is unabashed in advocating that a person who has wealth speaks louder than others. In the movie, Gu Yuan's mother, a major sponsor of the university, can recklessly drive her car around campus. Contemporary Chinese problems such as increasing inequality, moral degradation and lack of social responsibility, appear normal in the film.

Raymond Zhou, 50, a columnist and movie critic, wrote that Tiny Times exhibited signs of "pathological greed." He scolded the film's "sick" parade of beauty and wealth via his microblog in Sina Weibo. Famous screenwriter Shi Hang also commented in his microblog that "It is not worth seeing such cinematic candy floss."

People's Daily, the state-run newspaper, criticized the film on July 15, stating "If society indulges in movies such as Tiny Times, people could be easily misled by both materialism and hedonism. This will mean the humanistic development and communication of an era will have spun out of control."