Quitting | 
| Director: Yang Zhang (ii)
Actors: Fengsen Jia, Xiuling Chai, Shun Xing, Tong Wang (ii), Hongshen Jia
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy Used: $0.50
You Save: $29.45 (98%)
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 85756
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Mandarin Chinese (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0767883012
UPC: 043396079076
EAN: 9780767883016
ASIN: B0000844M9
Theatrical Release Date: March 4, 2003
Release Date: March 4, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This award-winning Chinese film is unlike any other you've seen: a true-life story that's enacted by the real-life participants but is not a documentary in any traditional sense. Not only did the young actor Jia Hongsheng (who rose to stardom in China, succumbed to heroin addiction, and alienated his family with erratic, schizoid behavior) agree to re-create this harrowing period in his life, but so did his family, as well as everyone else who appears in Quitting. His recovery is as compelling as his collapse; the efforts of his family to support his return to health are deeply moving. Director Zhang Yang (Shower) shifts styles without losing the forward momentum of this remarkable chronicle. Quitting was a sensation in China, where the struggle between traditional conformity and individual freedom grows increasingly tense, making this movie a striking social document as well as a gripping personal story. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Life as a play October 20, 2008
Pippa Lee (Honolulu, HI USA)
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.
Vanity Project Or Meaningful Self Exploration? The Unusual Chinese Biography "Quitting" Is An Intriguing Oddity February 8, 2007
K. Harris (Las Vegas, NV)
"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.
 One clarification September 9, 2006
Mark Twain (Wisconsin)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
Jia Hongsheng full of himself? February 24, 2005
melisser (Boston, MA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
Da Bidus January 8, 2004
Michael Ward (Athens, Georgia)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
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