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Forty-five-year-old An Gang has seldom shed a tear while watching films， but China’s recent blockbuster Dying to Survive brought tears to his eyes on July 5.
The fi lm is about a medication dealer who smuggles unlicensed leukemia medicine from India to provide for poor patients who cannot afford more expensive， offi cially licensed versions in China. The protagonist， Cheng Yong， fi rst became involved in the illegal trade to earn quick money to support his family， and quit the business after making a decent amount. However， following the death of one of his friends due to a lack of affordable drugs， he later resumes the operation.
“My heart hurt when I saw Lu Shouyi， the dying leukemia patient， peeling an orange to thank the protagonist，” An told Beijing Review.“The scene reminded me of my cousin who suffered a similar plight several years ago.”
An’s cousin was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer. During her treatment， she begged An， then working abroad， to buy Iressa—a medication that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells—on her behalf. Yet An was unable to source the drug because at the time Iressa was still undergoing clinical trials.“The last time I saw her， she smiled and peeled an apple for me， just like Lu Shouyi，” An said. Two years after his cousin’s death， Iressa became reachable in India， and An bought some to help his friends. “But I can never make it up to my cousin，” he said.
The film is based on the true story of Lu Yong， a leukemia patient from east China’s Jiangsu Province. In the mid-2000s， Lu began taking unregulated but affordable Indian cancer drugs back and helped more than 1，000 fellow sufferers to access them without extra cost. In 2013， he was charged with fraud and traffi cking fake drugs， but he was later freed after fellow patients signed a petition to clear his name.
The film， directed by 33-year-old Wen Muye， has drawn parallels with the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Matthew McConaughey， which is also based on the true story of a U.S. man who smuggled and sold unregulated drugs to help fellow HIV sufferers in the 1980s.
Although Dying to Survive is not a bigbudget film， it quickly became a sensation after its initial screening at the 2018 Shanghai International Film and TV Festival on June 19. It has also received a rating of nine out of 10 and above on Douban.com， Maoyan.com and Dianying.taotao.com， China’s top three film review platforms， higher than the 2017 box offi ce hit Wolf Warrior II. Success has also been registered at the box offi ce throughout China， earning 2.01 billion yuan （$302.1 million） in the fi rst nine days following its release， and putting it in pole position to be China’s highest grossing fi lm of the year.
The fi lm is about a medication dealer who smuggles unlicensed leukemia medicine from India to provide for poor patients who cannot afford more expensive， offi cially licensed versions in China. The protagonist， Cheng Yong， fi rst became involved in the illegal trade to earn quick money to support his family， and quit the business after making a decent amount. However， following the death of one of his friends due to a lack of affordable drugs， he later resumes the operation.
“My heart hurt when I saw Lu Shouyi， the dying leukemia patient， peeling an orange to thank the protagonist，” An told Beijing Review.“The scene reminded me of my cousin who suffered a similar plight several years ago.”
An’s cousin was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer. During her treatment， she begged An， then working abroad， to buy Iressa—a medication that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells—on her behalf. Yet An was unable to source the drug because at the time Iressa was still undergoing clinical trials.“The last time I saw her， she smiled and peeled an apple for me， just like Lu Shouyi，” An said. Two years after his cousin’s death， Iressa became reachable in India， and An bought some to help his friends. “But I can never make it up to my cousin，” he said.
The film is based on the true story of Lu Yong， a leukemia patient from east China’s Jiangsu Province. In the mid-2000s， Lu began taking unregulated but affordable Indian cancer drugs back and helped more than 1，000 fellow sufferers to access them without extra cost. In 2013， he was charged with fraud and traffi cking fake drugs， but he was later freed after fellow patients signed a petition to clear his name.
The film， directed by 33-year-old Wen Muye， has drawn parallels with the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Matthew McConaughey， which is also based on the true story of a U.S. man who smuggled and sold unregulated drugs to help fellow HIV sufferers in the 1980s.
Although Dying to Survive is not a bigbudget film， it quickly became a sensation after its initial screening at the 2018 Shanghai International Film and TV Festival on June 19. It has also received a rating of nine out of 10 and above on Douban.com， Maoyan.com and Dianying.taotao.com， China’s top three film review platforms， higher than the 2017 box offi ce hit Wolf Warrior II. Success has also been registered at the box offi ce throughout China， earning 2.01 billion yuan （$302.1 million） in the fi rst nine days following its release， and putting it in pole position to be China’s highest grossing fi lm of the year.