Quitting

Quitting Chinese literally Yesterday is a 2001 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yang, starring and based on the true life story of Jia Hongsheng. Jia, an actor and former drug addict, battled his addiction to marijuana and heroin for five years from 1992 to 1997. All members of the cast, from Jia and Jias family members right down to the doctors and patients at a mental institute Jia was admitted to, are real people playing themselves. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival onSeptember 2001 and clinched the NETPAC Award.

Jia Hongsheng, graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989, gains fame in the late 80s and early 90s as an actor in films such as The Case of the Silver Snake and A Woman from North Shaanxi. During rehearsal for a stageplay titled Kiss of the Spider Woman also directed by Zhang Yang in the fall of 1992, Jia first comes into contact with marijuana and subsequently becomes addicted and even experiments occasionally with heroin. In 1995, after filming Weekend Lover, Jia quits acting completely and lives off his younger sister Wang Tong. An avid fan of The Beatles, Jia listens to their music obsessively and begins to imagine himself as the son of John Lennon.In late 1995, Jias parents Jia Fengsen and Chai Xiuling, both theatre actors from Northeastern China, decide to move to Beijing to help their son to quit drugs. Wang Tong, who had previous moved out, also comes back to live with her parents and brother in the same apartment. Initial efforts by the aged parents to penetrate their sons inner world are met with indifference, sometimes even hostility. Over time, however, Jia begins to open up gradually. He begins to take regular walks with his father, usually buying a bottle or two of beer along the way. Jia Fengsen also buys his son cassette tapes by The Beatles, as requested by the latter. ........

Source: Wikipedia