Customer Reviews

Quitting

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, it is hard to believe that the characters in the film are the real people involved in this tale of a man's real-life struggle with heroin addiction. Zhang Yang has done an incredible job with the film's cinematography, often drawing back from the aesthetics of a televised production to portray the work in a theatrical stage setting. This technique is effective in reminding me that these actors are truly the people involved in this drama. Jia Hongsheng does an incredible job of playing a selfish, vain, obsessive man afflicted with the disease of addiction. It is easy to feel his pain, and to also relate to his emotional turbulences. He finds peace through music, and immerses himself in the Beatles while he is unable to communicate with his family and the outside world. Jia's parents and his sister do a great job supporting him in this film, most notably his father as he struggles with the realization of his own alcoholism. This movie is beautiful, poetically created and emotionally acted out. The glimpse that we have into a real family's struggles is both tragic and liberating, reminding me of my own family dysfunctions, and of the hope for recovery.

"Quitting" is an audacious and unusual biopic from Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang. Documenting the real life turmoil, including heroine addiction and institutionalization, of a well known young actor named Jia Hongshen--"Quitting" casts Hongshen as himself. Also cast as themselves are his parents, various friends, doctors and even mental patients. Asked to recreate disturbing scenes from their difficult past, the actors portray different stages during which Hongshen initially succumbs to his troubles and then strives to rise above them. It can be a somewhat awkward device to cast people as themselves (unfortunately what comes to mind are the TV biopics of Joan Rivers and American Idol's Fantasia Barrino), but in this case the intimacy works well. It probably doesn't hurt, however, that the principals had prior acting experience. This film is a noble and creative attempt, and its unorthodox approach offers much to be admired from a technical standpoint.

Ultimately, though, I feel that the film always kept me at arm's length. It deals with emotional and confrontational issues and yet never fully engaged me in the drama. There was plenty of potential to be moved and drawn into the compelling family dynamic, but just as you get to those moments--the film backs away as if it doesn't want the viewer to get too close. I think part of this stems from the artificial nature of its construction. There are frequent and sporadic interviews that halt the story and offer biographical insight. These are purposefully theatrical, they keep reminding us that what we're seeing is just a dramatization. In another filmic technique, several times the camera pulls away from what is happening to reveal that all is being performed on a stage before an empty auditorium. The film never lets you forget that the world presented, whatever truth it might be based on, is a fictional construct.

Don't get me wrong, I found this approach fascinating and different--but I did long to be more fully involved with the story. There isn't a lot of specific information provided that let me know about Hongshen as a real person--as an actor, as an addict, as a friend, as a man in mental turmoil. The film shows you precisely what it wants to, and nothing more. And, in truth, this provides a surface view only. One would think this "all access pass" approach to filmmaking would provide you with a greater understanding of the individuals involved--heck, they're playing themselves--but, no. But still, I admired much of the film's technique and its defiance of conventional standards. From a film appreciation standpoint, then, I'd award "Quitting" about 3 1/2 stars. While I may have wanted more, a great deal was still delivered. KGHarris, 02/07.

Quitting (Zuotian) is a film about Hongshen and his addiction to drugs. Hongshen, a former actor, lives in an apartment complex which he seldom leaves. The family finds out about his drug addiction and decides to move to where he lives and try to help him. However, this seems to tear the family apart and there seems to be no way out other than to institutionalize Hongshen for his drug addiction. Quitting is a narrative of Hongshen's life that grabs the audience with a serious undertone, but occasionally is playful through the characters that Hongshen meets through his habit. The film is an interesting contemporary Chinese film that entertains while offering a lot of food for the mind.

Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but I wonder how much of a hand Jia Hongsheng had in developing the film. I mean, when a story is told casting the main character as himself, I would think he would be a heavy hand in writing, documenting, etc. and that would make it a little biased in his favor.

But, his family and friends also may have had a hand in getting the actual details about Hongsheng's life. I think the best view would have been told from Hongsheng's family and friends' perspectives. They saw his transformation and weren't so messed up on drugs that they remember everything.

As for Hongsheng being full of himself, the consistencies of the Jesus Christ pose make him appear as a martyr who sacrificed his life (metaphorically, of course, he's obviously still alive as he was cast as himself) for his family's happiness. Huh? Exactly.

The viewer sees him at his lowest points while still maintaining a superiority complex. He lies on the grass coming down from (during?) a high by himself and with his father, he contemplates life and has visions of dragons at his window, he celebrates his freedom on a bicycle all while outstretching his arms, his head cocked to one side.

It's fabulous that he's off of drugs now, but he's no hero. He went from a high point in his career in acting to his most vulnerable point while on drugs to come back somewhere in the middle.

This same device is used in Ted Demme's "Blow" where the audience empathizes with the main character who is shown as a flawed hero.

However, "Quitting" ("Zuotian") is a film that is recommended, mostly for its haunting soundtrack, superb acting, and landscapes. But, the best part is the feeling that one gets when what we presume to be the house of Jia Hongsheng is actually a stage setting for a play. It makes the viewer feel as if Hongsheng's life was merely a play told in many straining and difficult parts.

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.

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.

After reading earlier reviews, just want to clarify one thing. While most of the roles in the movie were played by the actual people, Hongsheng's sister is an exception.

Hongsheng's sister is actually performed by Tong Wang (Biandan, guniang), a professional actress. Hongsheng's real-life sister was the one who first found out Hongsheng's drug problem. She didn't inform their parents at first in a hope that Hongsheng would quit by himself soon. It was the pain that had hurt her so much that she did not want to recall any of those days. She didn't agree to act in the film. As a matter of fact, she still refuses to watch the movie.

Other movies starring Hongsheng Jia and available on DVD at Amazon include Suzhou River and Frozen.

In director Zhang Yang's film "Quitting," four years in the life of Jia Hongsheng, a professional actor, become both a play and a stage. Jia Hongsheng, his parents, friends, and even the doctors and the patients play themselves as they recreate, in some cases, their involvement in Hongsheng's fall into heroin addiction and, in other cases, their struggles to help him overcome his drug habit.

At the beginning of the movie, when Hongsheng agrees to the director's proposal to re-enact his drug addiction years on stage, he does so because he wants to understand his life. By the end of the movie, however, I thought that the goal had not been quite accomplished. The device of interspersing thorough the film scenes where the camera moves away from the action until it reveals that the characters are on a stage left me with an impression of distance, as if they were saying, "I'm here telling you my story, but I don't want you to get too close to it." The story wants to draw the viewers into the picture, yet it also leaves them outside of the frame. I did not find the intimacy and insight that I expected from a true story told by those who lived through it.

However, I could not help but empathize with Hongsheng's battle for his sanity and against his inner demons. Also, I was touched by his parents' determination and sacrifices. His parents did all they could to save him. They loved him; pleased him, scolded him, rationalized with him, yelled at him, and pleaded with him until the day they realized their son needed professional help.

By the end of "Quitting," I might have not understood why Hongsheng felt he was a phony or why he kept visiting the same park over and over again, but the movie told his story in an interesting way, one that calls to mind Shakespeare's words: All the world's a stage; and all the men and women merely players...

Perhaps, what this movie is trying to say is that life may be like a play where we are just acting our roles until the day we have the courage to face and accept our true fallible selves.

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.

Quitting.... hmmm doesent seem to ring a bell but now that you mention it.... Ah yes the movie about some crappy chinese actor who smokes herion and listened to one beatles album for a year.... Uhhhh exact reason why he listens to one album for a whole year is beyond me and what the heck was his point of doing heroin anyways i mean he was an actor so why was he depressed. I watched about a minute of it an hated it, so yeah this dvd is crap and will never be good