Quitting

I must say that there were two reasons why I was interested in purchasing this film. The first is that I have a fascination with heroin addiction, I know this sounds horrible, but I enjoy reading the early books by William S. Burroughs, Ryu Murakami's _Almost Transparent Blue_ and Luke Davies's _Candy_ for this reason. Second I was interested in the fact that all of the parts were played by the actual people. Some of the scenes in this movie must have been ver hard for not only for Jia Hongsheng's family, but also for his, sometimes former, friends and acquantences. The movie itself is pretty simple. Hongsheng an actor slowly falls into the grasp of heroin, and in order to aid his recovery his mother and father move in. He already lives with his sister who is quite the beauty. Anyway, at first his mother and father do all they can do to pacify their recovering son, buying him music casettes, beer, and basicaly taking care of his needs. However, Hongsheng soon begins using drugs again and is ultimately taken to a mental hospital. Unlike what the reviewer before me stated, I do not believe that the director is trying to blame Western society for Hongsheng's drug problems. He is just a fan of John Lennon and the Beatles, nothing more.

A Chinese friend convinced me to watch this interesting film, as he was a recovering addict like the character in "Quitting." (I understand the title in Chinese translates into "Yesterday," which, upon finishing watching the film, I thought was a much better, more befitting title than "Quitting.")

As other reviews have pointed out, this is based on a true story and played out by the real people who had expererienced the events. I was certainly surprised to learn that even the patients at the mental hospital were real patients, because they did a fine acting job. In any case, Hongsheng's father and mother did a decent job, although in a few scenes their acting is rather stage-like. Hongsheng's sister is one hot Asian girl! I understand she, like her brother and parents, is also an actor; too bad she does not get much screen time at all.

Of course, the focus is on Hongsheng himself, a young actor who got addicted to illicit drugs. The story is about his recovery. The first half is a bit bland as Hongsheng's parents arrive in Beijing to live with him, care for him and lecture on him. The second half, when he strikes his father (oops, spoiler!) which finally turns him around, is excellently scripted and filmed. It's touching yet not pretentious.

The most interesting aspect is probably the father-son relationship depicted in the film, which is totally unlike any I've seen in Asian films. You have to watch this to feel for Hongsheng's parents during the darkest days.

Finally, the dialog is in Chinese but the English caption is better than most. Lately I've developed a taste for indie films, and I rate this highly and recommend to anyone who's interested in this subject.

When actor Jia Hongsheng's parents found out that he was suffering from drug addiction, they retired early from their own acting careers and moved to Beijing to give him all their support and love. So begins this amazing film about a real life actor's struggle with heroin, the scorn he felt for the world around him, and the valiant efforts his family made to save him.

What makes this film even more compelling is the fact that everyone (parents, friends, and mental hospital patients included) plays themselves. It is apparent that some of these scenes (particularly the ones revealing Jia's rudeness and cruelty to his father) were painful for the cast to re-enact. Their courage in telling this story is what makes "Quitting" exceptional. The scene in which Jia's father painstakingly attempts to buy Jia a Beatles cassette tape, while never quite understanding the name of the band (and knowing that there will never be a word of thanks for his trouble), alone shows the incredible amount of love these parents had for their son.

Despite his family's loyalty and support, it becomes evident that the only one that can heal Jia is himself. The journey is one he takes alone, while in a mental hospital.

I recommend that everyone see this film.