Dying to Survive (2018)

"Life is money"

Dying to Survive seemed like a film written for me. Small time heroes clandestinely go up against a large pharmaceutical company bleeding terminal patients dry and by extension, the government. Goodness knows I’m nearly always up for a story socking it to the greedy companies who only care about the people who can pay for their products. But somehow, I never quite connected to the characters in this film, try as I might.

People suffering from Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) are suffering and dying because the treatment is cost prohibitive. The international pharmaceutical company jealously guards its medications and profit margins. When a patient, Lu Shou Yi, approaches a small-time erotic supplement shop owner about smuggling a generic version of the cancer drug pirated in India, his and other patients’ fortunes change…for a while. Cheng Yong’s dad is ill and needs a surgery, but Cheng is broke. He takes Lu up on his offer and begins smuggling the drug in. The problems begin to mount along with his profits. The police and a counterfeit drug con artist both are on his tail.

I think part of the problem I had with this film was that Cheng Yong wasn’t very likeable. His recently ex-wife was not unaccustomed to being hit by him. He was brash and often self-centered. That he worried about getting caught by the police didn’t bother me. I can’t imagine anyone not being deterred by the thought of spending up to a lifetime in jail, something his customers didn’t have to worry about. Their concern was dying without the life-giving medication. When Cheng had his 180-degree personal transformation, it was dizzying. I could have also used more character development for the leukemia patients I was supposed to care about.

Xu Zheng gave a solid performance as the morally conflicted Cheng Yong. I might have had problems with how he went from a selfish capitalist to completely selfless savior, but Cheng sold it as best he could. If you are a Zhou Yi Wei fan, you might be disappointed as he doesn’t have much screen time as the detective in charge of hunting down the source of the “counterfeit” drugs. Cao Bin had no problem going after the actual drug scammers but began to feel his conscience prick him when he discovered the drugs Cheng’s customers were using were legit, just not on the national drug list. And at a fraction of the cost. Even people not suffering from poverty can be financially devastated when having to pay exorbitant prices for medications.

Large corporations and insurance companies should not have the power of life and death, so I was pleased that Cheng Yong and his crew bucked the system instigating changes to the health care system in China. I couldn’t read the explanatory credits at the end of the film, but I’m sure it said that policies were enacted to make cancer drugs much more affordable and available or I doubt this film would have been made. But I will always celebrate any win that bloodies the nose of those who prey upon the sick and the weak.

30 January 2026

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An equally humorous and heartbreaking story of resilience, redemption, and justice

Dying to Survive is one of those movies that will make you laugh out loud one moment and then punch you in the gut during the next. The central (based on a true) story revolves around a struggling Shanghainese shopkeeper who decides to smuggle cancer drugs into China and sell them at a discount to leukemia patients. As he sets up his business, he recruits a rag-tag band of helpers who provide some of the movie's best moments of comic relief as they fumble their way through establishing the operation before finally hitting their stride.

The movie does a good job balancing lighter moments with the inevitable heartbreak, because when the latter comes, it hits hard. Tensions rise as a looming band of government regulators threatens to close in on the central, illicit operation, bringing dire consequences to all the key players involved. The lead actors play their roles exceptionally well, drawing the audience into the injustice of their lives as cancer patients under a rigged medical system. The screenplay is also raw and powerful, leaving the viewer just as outraged and devastated as the characters on screen.

Is Dying to Survive perhaps overly sentimental at times? Yes. 100% accurate? Probably not. And yet, it's still a well-done film carrying a vital lesson about healthcare and moral justice.

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