After closing his father’s grocery store alone on graduation night, Sin (Michael Daeho Chung) meets with his gang of friends and reports that he’s just been robbed of $1,500. He’s already facing fierce family pressure about receiving scholarships for college; he can’t bear the prospect of telling his authoritarian father about the robbery.

Yellow

written and directed by Chris Chan Lee

starring Michael Chung, Burt Bulos, Angie Suh, Mia Suh, Soon Tek Oh

starts Friday at the Varsity

Partly out of genuine concern and partly from being bullied and cajoled by pushy, domineering Alex (Burt Bulos), the group decides to scavenge enough money to replace what’s been lost. Sin resists the idea, but the plan takes on a life of its own and their efforts rapidly take a turn for the worst. Yellow rambles and sometimes flounders, but in a way that reflects its vision of the teenage experience.

The movie’s drive comes from its characters: Sin and Alex are both obnoxious in their own way. The other friends have more charm, particularly Grace (Angie Suh), who’s struggling with her mother’s admonitions to be more ladylike. Sin’s girlfriend, Teri (Mia Suh), constantly veers on the edge of dumping her oddly passive, stressed-out boyfriend; she’s an independent character, not just an adjunct to the hero. The kids have stereotypical aspects, but the actors and the script consistently give just enough shading or color to sustain a sense of reality. Yellow could use some sharper editing and more consistent dialogue, but such vividness of character is a rare accomplishment that makes the film worth seeing.