Quitting; 昨天

July 5th marks the fifth anniversary of mainland actor Jia Hongsheng (贾宏声)'s death. For a classically trained actor (Gong Li, of Farewell My Concubine and Shanghai Triad fame, was his college classmate at the Central Academy of Dramatic Arts), he rose to the stature of teen idol while still in school then quickly vanished not long after college. For years, his drug use was not a secret among his circle. Every now and then he would make a memorable performance, and one of his last, Quitting, has drawn him quite a posthumous cult following. 
Quitting is a rare film in Chinese cinema and I dare say there won't be another like this. It's a movie that's completely based on true story that occurred six to seven years prior with scenes reenacted by the protagonist himself. The gut-wrenching plot centered on how Jia's naive but steadfastly devoted parents arrived in Beijing to help him rebuild his life after rehab and in the process discovered what a total stranger their son has become. Jia's own arc, which included detailed narratives of his experience with drug use, made this movie more real than a documentary. 
Can't really imagine how difficult it was for a recovering addict to reenact his past. Jia, however, made this film under the pretense that he has recovered and perhaps can make a comeback. 
But he never did. He grew increasingly detached from the rest of the world till his early demise in 2010. 
The movie smacks Beijing in the 1990s, not so long ago yet so distant looking, which is in itself quite precious to look at. 

Enjoy the movie.