This director is vindictive.

Chapter 159 Born ordinary, everyone is an ordinary person
"Dying to Survive" is a typical three-part narrative style.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see this.

But this does not prevent everyone from paying attention to the follow-up of this movie and the characters in the play at this moment.

The story is still told from Cheng Yong's perspective.

On the contrary, it did not show much about what happened to everyone after Cheng Yong left.

A year later, Cheng Yong took the money and opened a clothing processing factory. He was servile and fawning to customers, just like thousands of other small business owners.

Of course, he also put on a suit and tie and acted like a human being.

He is no longer the owner of the magic oil shop facing a mid-life crisis.

Cheng Yong was driving a luxury car and was about to accompany a client to dinner and leisure when Lu Shouyi's wife, who had not been seen for a long time, came to see him.

It turned out that after Zhang Changlin got the channel of Gleevec in India, in order to make huge profits, he raised the price of the medicine to 20,000 yuan per bottle. Lu Shouyi could not afford the medicine and his condition worsened again!

Cheng Yong felt very uncomfortable when he saw his former team members with thinning hair and unconsciousness again.

Cheng Yong looked at Lu Shouyi's expression and knew that he had attempted suicide before, so he couldn't help but say, "Okay, kid, you actually have the courage to commit suicide."

Lu Shouyi smiled bitterly and did not answer him. If he were just such a person, he might frantically ask Cheng Yong to return after losing the medicine, but he didn't. After seeing Cheng Yong again in the hospital, a smile appeared on his haggard face, just like when they smuggled the medicine together. There might be blame, but he chose to forgive.

The painful screams during the subsequent debridement were the most pale answer.

That night, when Lu Shouyi woke up in pain in the middle of the night and saw his sleeping wife and children, a relieved smile appeared on his pale face.

This scene can be said to have made many people shed tears silently.

In fact, many viewers would think that Cheng Yong’s reappearance meant that Lu Shouyi had regained the courage and motivation to live, including Zhou Xiaobin who thought so at the beginning. However, the truth was that Lu Shouyi chose to hang himself in the toilet.

His death can be said to be the first tearjerker in the movie.

Many audience members in the theater couldn't help but secretly wipe away the tears from the corners of their eyes.

Especially the smile on his face when he looked at his wife and children at the end reminded people of what he said earlier when he took Cheng Yong home for dinner.

"When I first got sick, my wife was only six months pregnant, and I wanted to die every day. But the moment I saw him, I didn't want to die anymore. I just wanted to hear him call me dad. Now I have medicine and money. If my son had had a baby earlier, I would have become a grandfather."

At that time, he was full of hope for life and had beautiful visions for the future.

He once wanted to die, but he didn't want to die for the sake of his children, so he went to find Cheng Yong. But now, for the sake of his wife and children, he chose to end his own life.

From not wanting to die to wanting to die, he gave the child the same look.

The man who always wore layers of masks, the man who always humbly invited people to eat oranges, left.

He just didn't want to burden his wife and children.

The death of Lu Shouyi awakened Cheng Yong and made him embark on the path of smuggling generic drugs again, this time not for money, but for conscience.

From this moment on, he truly embarked on the path of being a "hero" and a "medicine god".

This is the milestone that marks the beginning of the third part of his hero’s journey – “The Return”.

Cheng Yong made another trip to India, but the situation was different. An Indian generic drug manufacturer had been sued by the original Gleevec, and the Indian government had ordered it to halt production. As a result, Gleevec was no longer available. However, the pharmaceutical company's distributors said they could buy back some of the drug from the market to supply Cheng Yong.

Cheng Yong, having obtained the drug, instructed Liu Sihui to inform other patients that the drug was being supplied to leukemia patients at a discount of 500 yuan. Messages spread across QQ groups across China, allowing patients who couldn't afford genuine Gleevec to obtain their life-saving medication. Meanwhile, the resurgence of Indian Gleevec increased pressure on the police, forcing them to desperately track down the source of the "fake drug" and confiscate it. The patients who had received the Indian Gleevec at such a low price were also desperately trying to keep it a secret and not betray Cheng Yong.

Cao Bin led his team to search for counterfeit drugs and arrested a group of patients who bought generic drugs and asked them where they bought them.

At this moment, an old lady stepped forward, stopped Cao Bin and said, "I've been sick for three years. I've been taking genuine medicine that costs 40,000 yuan a bottle. I've lost my house and my family. Now I finally have cheaper medicine, but you insist on saying it's fake. Don't we know whether this medicine is fake or not?"
Whose family doesn't have a sick person? Can you guarantee that you will never get sick in your life? If you take it away, we will all die. I don't want to die, I want to live, okay? "

This scene made Cao Bin confused, and also made the audience in the theater cry.

"I want to live, okay?"

This sentence expresses the thoughts of many patients.

When Zhang Changlin was desperate, he tried to extort money from Cheng Yong, who gave him 300,000 yuan. Before leaving, the charlatan pointed out a heartbreaking truth: "Many ordinary people fall back into poverty due to illness, and become increasingly poor. There is only one disease in the world: poverty!"

Zhang Changlin was arrested, but what was sad was that even this charlatan, the real fake drug dealer, chose to be loyal in the end and did not give up Cheng Yong.

Although Zhang Changlin did not give Cheng Yong away, everything is not over yet. As long as the drugs are still being sold, the police must continue to investigate.

The plot has entered its final stage and has reached another tear-jerking moment.

The character Huangmao has very few lines in the entire movie.

But this role is very memorable.

He also missed home and his parents, but in order not to burden his family, he suppressed his longing and stayed away from them for years.

When Cheng Yong asked him to go home, he smiled happily and cut his hair obediently, wanting to appear in front of his family in a better posture.

Just seeing this scene, many people felt heartbroken for no reason!
Once this flag is raised, everyone knows that tragedy is about to happen.

as predicted.

Huang Mao and Cheng Yong were transporting medicine when they ran into a police raid. To evade the police and protect Cheng Yong's identity, Huang Mao drove away from the scene, drawing the police's attention and protecting Cheng Yong. However, just as he escaped the pursuit, he was hit by a passing truck. Huang Mao, who was also ill and had already bought a ticket to return home, died.

The moment he made the self-sacrificing move to protect the other, and the smile on his face as he sped away from the policeman, was probably the closest he got to being a hero in his humble life.

But he still died, he can never go back!
In the hospital, Cheng Yong completely broke down emotionally after learning of Huang Mao's death. He repeatedly questioned Cao Bin: "He was only 20 years old. He just wanted to live. What crime did he commit?"

At this moment, the tears accumulated by the audience in the theater finally flowed down like they were free.

Yes, he is only twenty years old. He just wants to live. What's wrong with him?

At that moment, he was perhaps the best brother that many men wanted most. He was a simple, pure, and righteous man. If it weren't for his illness, his youth might have been different.

Before meeting Cheng Yong, Huang Mao had planned to never go home. But even if it meant death, who wouldn't want to die surrounded by their loved ones? But Huang Mao didn't have that condition. As the saying goes, because I love you, I leave you.

He finally decided to go home, but he could no longer use the ticket.

Cheng Yong came to Huang Mao's residence and looked at the train ticket. He couldn't help crying again. Huang Mao died, but his death did not discourage everyone's fighting spirit. For the sake of the vast number of patients, they still secretly sold medicine.

However, after investigation by the police, Cheng Yong was finally caught red-handed when he was selling Gleevec.

After Cheng Yong was arrested, he admitted what he had done in court, but he also said: "Looking at these patients, I feel sad. They can't afford the imported, exorbitantly priced drugs, so they can only wait to die, or even commit suicide!

However, I believe things will get better and better in the future, and I hope that day will come sooner rather than later!"

When Cheng Yong was sent from the court to prison, many of his fellow patients stood densely in two rows on both sides of the street, watching the bailiff's vehicle slowly move forward.

As the prison van slowly moved forward, wherever Cheng Yong's eyes passed, the patients he had helped took off their masks and watched Cheng Yong leave with their most sincere respect.

He seemed to see Lu Shouyi and Peng Hao in the crowd.
This scene does not have too many words, but through the patients' actions, it fully demonstrates their gratitude, respect for Cheng Yong and their desire for life.

At this moment, the audience was all moved by this sincere emotion, and tears welled up in their eyes.

At the end of the film, Cheng Yong was released from prison, but unlike the previous scene of thousands of people seeing him off, the only one who came to pick him up was his brother-in-law Cao Bin.

He told Cheng Yong that even if he sold the medicine, no one would buy it because it was included in the medical insurance.

The movie ends.

The scene was silent for a long time, and suddenly thunderous applause rang out and lasted for a long time!
In fact, Zhou Xiaobin and others who came to the scene were also clapping vigorously at this moment.

Perhaps "Dying to Survive" cannot be called a classic, but as far as domestic films are concerned, this movie has given them enough surprises and shocks.

This can also be seen from the reactions of the audience.

The main creative members came on stage and applause broke out spontaneously again.

In Zhou Xiaobin's words: "It's far from good enough, but for the current Chinese film market, it's incredibly good."

With the launch of large-scale advance screenings of "Dying to Survive", more and more people went to the cinema to watch this movie.

On the Internet, discussions and reviews about this movie are gradually increasing.

"Although it's deliberately sentimental, it's rare to see such a theme in this era. The film captures the character traits of a group of people and has an epic feel. It doesn't engage in fearless confrontation with realistic themes, but simply presents them. It's so magical that it makes you doubt its authenticity, but once you learn the truth based on a true story, you'll be moved to tears."

"Illness is a sin, even God cannot forgive it; poverty is a disease, even the God of Medicine cannot cure it. Sihui put on her clothes one by one, Huangmao cut off her long hair inch by inch, Cheng Yong patched up the gap, and Shouyi took off his mask. Who is higher, law or emotion? Who is higher, life or money? Whose head will be smeared with the red potion of disaster? Where will the lucky savior descend on the earth? Many people spend their entire lives searching for a medicine. Can we live in a world without medicine?"

"Even the old lady in the extras made me cry. I can never brag about my tear-jerking ability again!"

"A small-time person who is cowardly, greedy, and even abusive at home, ultimately grits his teeth and does good deeds to the end—in fact, most people are like this. They are neither pure and kind nor utterly evil, but once you see something, you can't pretend not to see it."

"It was so moving! I didn't expect it to be this good. I cried my eyes out. It was also rare that I didn't see anyone using their phone in the theater."

"It's such a painful movie. I don't want to talk, I just want to cry."

"I expected it to be good, but I didn't expect it to be shot so simply, solidly, and smoothly. Chen Mo is a pragmatic director. He didn't set out to create a masterpiece, just to tell a good story. Because of this, the film's concern for reality appears thoughtful, careful, and accurate."

Film critic Zhou Xiaobin wrote a film review as soon as he returned.

“I personally have always believed that if a movie can make us think and grow, then it is a good movie.

Is "Dying to Survive" such a movie? Undoubtedly, it is!
When "Dying to Survive" was shown, the room was completely silent. No one was talking or eating snacks. Faint sobbing could be heard, but that was all. Even when the lights came on, some people were still immersed in the world of the movie, unable to escape.

It's been a long time since we've had minor characters in our films. Many films either depict cross-class romances between the wealthy and the underprivileged; or explore the lives and frustrations of the middle class; or explore the regrets of successful individuals after losing everything. Honestly, none of these films resonate with the real world. Because most of the characters are still like those in "Dying to Survive."

He could be a bored shop owner like Cheng Yong who runs a small shop on the street; he could be Lv Shouyi who has a beloved wife and children and has to live desperately and tenaciously; he could be Sihui who was abandoned by her husband and has to dance pole dancing in a nightclub to support her daughter; he could be Huangmao who is taciturn and not good at expressing himself but is kind and loyal in his heart; he could also be Pastor Liu who has a devout faith but cannot be saved.

Their lives are a mess, a mess, but they still work hard, hoping for a better future and a better life for their loved ones. No matter how low their lives fall, kindness is the underlying principle that prevents them from falling.

The film lacks a typical villain, only a single director, Zhang Changlin, who defrauded patients of their life-saving money by selling counterfeit drugs. He gained agency rights by threatening Cheng Yong, then raised the price of the drugs to 2 yuan per bottle, sparking public outrage. His criminal record is rife. Yet, even this man, after being arrested, refused to reveal Cheng Yong's name.

I remember hearing a saying: What I can't do, I hope you can do.

To him, kindness is probably the little spark that never goes out in his heart. Once the spark is ignited, it can burn his entire life.

We are born ordinary. We lack the power to command, the wealth to spend, the beauty to captivate, or the luck of a star. Therefore, we understand more deeply the precariousness of life for ordinary people. It's the cautious fear of quitting, getting sick, getting into trouble, or even giving up, because even one wrong step could lead to irreparable consequences.

Only after having seen the abyss can one understand the true meaning of pain. That is why we long for a ray of light to shine in our lives and bring us hope.

In "Dying to Survive", hope becomes the ultimate annotation.

I remember hearing a saying: A person’s greatest value is not what he has accomplished, but what he has accomplished for others.

This old saying seems too true. We have seen such a saying in some foreign movies before. Now there is finally a domestic movie that can perfectly interpret it without the awkwardness of previous similar movies.

It directly confronts a problem that our domestic films have never dared to face before: death.

In the face of death, the law appears indifferent; pharmaceutical companies appear ruthless. For humans, the right to survive is paramount. Even if Cheng Yong violated the law, anyone with a sane outlook would tend to uphold the fundamental ethical principle that "living is more important than anything else."

The tears it evokes are not just because of sadness, sorrow or touching, but a mixed feeling like life. Those things gather in your chest, steaming and suppressing, making you want to speak but unable to, want to cry but unable to cry freely. It even makes you feel the urge to cry whenever you see the stills for a period of time afterwards.

It touches upon the deepest pain of ordinary people like us.

And in this world, after all, everyone is an ordinary person.

This is a movie that we wanted to make but didn't dare to make in the past, and wanted to make but couldn't make.

This movie, which directly faces reality, touches the hearts of Chinese people every minute - medicine, poverty, and life.

As they say in the movie, “There is only one disease in the world, and that is poverty.”

A good movie can resonate with people and make them think. There is no doubt that this movie has done so successfully!
It is certainly not perfect, but for a domestic film, it is good enough.

In this story, many contradictions such as life, interests, and law are rushing in, causing many people to think deeply. If you were Cheng Yong, what would you do?
In the last scene, Cheng Yong walked through the crowd, and everyone outside the prison van was seeing him off. He had indeed committed a crime, but this must be the most special criminal. Cheng Yong, played by Huang Bo, looked out of the prison van, his eyes filled with tears, but he could not say a word. The noisy outside the car contrasted with the silence inside the car. These two intentions complemented each other, making him very sacred.

"I Am Not a God of Medicine", he is indeed not a God of Medicine, and ultimately he failed to change other people's lives, but he is a god in the hearts of many people.

After watching "Dying to Survive", a friend told me that she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, crying for the fragility of life and the strength of human beings.

I think this is the meaning of good works. They always remind us to pay attention to the corners of life that are easily overlooked, and stir up the ripples of our dormant emotions!

(End of this chapter)