Dying to Survive
Released on July 5, 2018, the movie “Dying to Survive'' is based on the real life story of a Chinese leukemia patient during the early 2000s of China. It is about a pharmacy shop owner who made a huge profit from smuggling cheap but unapproved medicines for chronic myelogenous leukemia from India and selling it in China. The film portrays the struggle of working class citizens who were desperately needing money to survive, and to purchase lifesaving pharmaceuticals. It tells the story of people who stubbornly pursue life and dignity in the midst of painful diseases. They want nothing but to live. The core concept of the film is the confronting of a dilemma between law, reason, and emotion.
Key Words: Price gouging, inflation, pharmaceutical company, monopoly, leukemia
Work
Directed by Wen Muyue.
As Wen Muyue's first movie, “Dying to Survive” reached an extremely high box office of over 3 Billion Yuan. “Dying to Survive” presents the actual circumstances of people suffering from leukemia in the early 2000s of China. The film uses handheld lenses to shoot most of the scenes, with very few fixed lenses. This way, Muyue presents a documentary-like movie where audiences can feel the sense of motion, thereby making the movie feel more “real” to the audiences. The form of language used in the film is simple and easy to understand.
Context
“Dying to Survive” is one of the most successful Chinese movies in recent years.
The film is based on the true story of a man named Lu Yong. In order to better demonstrate the psychological transformation and to create a main protagonist that is more empathetic to the audience, Cheng Yong was a bystander of the disease. However, in real life, Lu Yong himself was a leukemia patient who promoted the reform of the medical system in China.
The film's success cannot be achieved without its realistic style. Everyone has more or less heard stories about people suffering from cancer, and the need for high medical expenses. Worries about fatal diseases, medical treatments and the high costs are always lingering in people's minds. The unpredictable diseases will bring about drastic changes in one’s life. When people face the choice of saving their life and money, there is no choice at all. The helplessness in the face of disease is wailing deep in the hearts of the public. The movie is a reflection of the life of the underprivileged in Chinese society.