Quitting

A FILM BY Yang Zhang


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. 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 (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 Hongsheng’s life.

Original Languages: Chinese (Mandarin)
Genre: Drama, World Cinema
Running Time: 112 min.
Year: 2002

CREDITS

CAST
Fengsen Jia
Hongshen Jia
Xiuling Chai
DIRECTED BY
Yang Zhang