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Quitting (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 44
Fresh: 34
Rotten:10
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Consensus: While Quitting is an honest and intimate look into the world of one man's struggle with drug addiction, the subject matter is better suited for the small screen.
Theatrical Release:Sep 13, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: In the late 80's a new film star, Jia Hongsheng, emerged in China. Labeled "the thug idol," he gained fame playing gangsters and heroes in a series of Chinese B-movies. Jia went on to star in a... In the late 80's a new film star, Jia Hongsheng, emerged in China. Labeled "the thug idol," he gained fame playing gangsters and heroes in a series of Chinese B-movies. Jia went on to star in a stage version of "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" directed by Zhang Yang and soon became the actor of choice for Chinese sixth generation filmmakers such as Wang Xiaoshuai ("Beijing Bicycle") and Lou Ye. He had his first experience with drugs on the set of "The Kiss of the Spiderwoman." Jia's naturally fragile mental/psychological state coupled with his experimentation with drugs gradually led him into a state of despair. He stopped acting and cut himself off entirely from all his friends, locking himself in an apartment listening to tapes of his favorite music over and over again. Jia's parents were members of a small theater troupe in a small town in Northeast China. Overjoyed by their son's success and distraught at his addiction, they left the troupe that they had been members of their whole lives, packed up all their belongings (literally bed, TV, furniture and everything they owned) and traveled to Beijing to be with their son. Every character in "Quitting" is played by a real person who was part of Jia Hongsheng's life. The film seeks to be unflinchingly realistic in its portrayal of its characters and the early 90's as a historical period. "Quitting" explores one man's journey, from the cutting edge of China's artistic movement in the early 90's, through a period of conflict with himself and his parents, to a mental institution and finally to the quest to rediscover himself and his family. -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]
Starring: Jia Hongsheng, Jia Fengsen, Chai Xiurong, Wang Tong
Starring: Jia Hongsheng, Jia Fengsen, Chai Xiurong, Wang Tong, Shun Xing, An Bin, Li Jie
Director: Zhang Yang
Director: Zhang Yang
Screenwriter: Zhang Yang, Huo Xin
Producer: Peter Loehr
Composer: Zhang Yadong
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Quitting
Bogs down badly as we absorb Jia's moody, bad-boy behavior which he portrays himself in a one-note performance.
It helps that the central performers are experienced actors, and that they know their roles so well.
Presents a side of contemporary Chinese life that many outsiders will be surprised to know exists, and does so with an artistry that also smacks of revelation.
... mesmerizing, an eye-opening tour of modern Beijing culture in a journey of rebellion, retreat into oblivion and return.
The asylum material is gripping, as are the scenes of Jia with his family.
Ultimately engages less for its story of actorly existential despair than for its boundary-hopping formal innovations and glimpse into another kind of Chinese 'cultural revolution.'
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