Too Many Smoking Scenes in Dying to Survive? Maybe You Missed the Point

Recently, "Dying to Survive" has been trending on social media,

Since its release, the film has received rave reviews without any signs of decline,

Watching the entire film, aside from reflecting on human emotions, medical insurance, and financial struggles,

I also noticed a significant supporting character: "smoke"

Smoke witnesses the protagonist Cheng Yong's transformation from a human to a "drug god" and back to an ordinary person,

Every shot of Cheng Yong with smoke carries deep meaning.

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*This article contains many spoilers

All stills are sourced from the internet

Smoke represents his anguish and despair.

The film begins with Cheng Yong lighting a cigarette. He is burdened with rent, his father's surgery costs, and custody of his son, but life is in dire straits, forcing him to hide behind a computer, playing solitaire. As he puts it, "I'm just a health product seller," what abilities could he have? Other than lighting one cigarette after another to vent his inner pressure and using cigarettes to please the nursing home staff, he has no other options. Cigarettes are his medicine, the only outlet for his anguish and despair.

Like the grim reality, Cheng Yong's inner world is also desolate. In front of his pregnant ex-wife, he carelessly lights up, causes a scene, and even unintentionally hits her. His arrogance contrasts sharply with the police officer Cao Bin extinguishing his cigarette and waving away the smoke, setting the stage for their opposition.

Extinguishing the cigarette represents his shame in arrogance.

In a rush to raise money for his father's treatment, Cheng Yong has to smuggle cheap medicine from India. Faced with countless cold faces and slammed doors, when he first discusses cooperation with the leaders of the patient group, he demands everyone remove their masks because he feels disrespected. The patients, with weak immune systems, yield to him under pressure, and in a stifling atmosphere, they all take off their masks, coughing fills the air. Cheng Yong arrogantly says, "If you’re worried about germs, then leave," while secretly extinguishing his cigarette.

At this moment, Cheng Yong is still filled with anger from his suppressed circumstances and a sense of desperation, but extinguishing the cigarette for the first time will lead to countless transformations: learning to respect others and being respected in return. From this moment on, he will intentionally extinguish cigarettes multiple times.

Amidst the swirling smoke, "If I don't enter hell, who will?"

If you missed the earlier references to smoke, there is a memorable shot involving "smoke". When Cheng Yong returns to India to sell medicine, he happens to see a group of people carrying the statues of the goddess Kali/Shiva (symbolizing the origin of life and rebirth) walking down the street. Cheng Yong stands on the smoke-filled street, watching for a long time.

The unintentional capture of this "smoke" image by the crew marks a tonal shift from the humor of the earlier scenes to the solemnity of the later ones, as Cheng Yong embarks on a journey of self-redemption, beginning his fight with the phrase, "If I don't enter hell, who will?"

Smoke disguises his identity.

Whether he was previously impoverished and using cigarettes to cope or later thriving in business, Cheng Yong always smokes ordinary cigarettes. Until Officer Cao Bin finds clues and tries to probe him, Cheng Yong lights an expensive cigar, arrogantly asking, "Is it profitable?"#p#分页标题#e#

A small man, a businessman, how could he be foolish enough to sell tens of thousands of medicines for 500 yuan? By the end, Cheng Yong no longer cares about fame or fortune; even if he could be caught at any moment, he must disguise himself to save lives. In the later stages, Cheng Yong's smoking frequency sharply decreases; smoke becomes his anchor in decision-making, his daily means of socializing and disguise.

Quitting smoking—returning to humanity

Some have said that the smoking scenes in this film are perhaps too numerous.

But in the end, Cheng Yong transforms from a human to a god and back to humanity,

After three years in prison, waiting for him outside is the officer Cao Bin who once pursued him.

On that day, Cao Bin, who refused the cigarette offered by Cheng Yong, took out a pack of cigarettes—

"Do you smoke?"

"I quit."

Shedding the glory and the stigma, Cheng Yong no longer needs cigarettes as medicine to relieve pressure, nor does he need them as an anchor. Perhaps he will start from scratch again, returning to being an ordinary person.

The journey from lighting a cigarette to quitting smoking runs through Cheng Yong's path of self-redemption. A small action can change someone else's life, reminding us of another "expensive illness" closely related to smoking—cancer:

According to the latest cancer data released by the National Cancer Center in 2017, about 10,000 people in China are diagnosed with cancer every day, approximately 7 people per minute.

Cancer has become one of the leading causes of death among the Chinese population. Smoking is regarded as a primary cause of lung cancer, and the earlier one starts smoking, the greater the risk. Studies show that smoking leads to the deaths of 80% of male lung cancer patients and 50% of female lung cancer patients worldwide. Smokers are 5.7 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers, and 30% of cancers are related to smoking.

According to WTO data, nearly 6 million people die each year due to smoking, including over 5 million smokers and former smokers; one-tenth are non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke.

There are over 300 million smokers in China, with 740 million people exposed to the harms of secondhand smoke daily, including 182 million children.

Perhaps, your action of extinguishing a cigarette

is changing someone else's life;

Perhaps, don't wait until you regret buying expensive medicine,

Start now, prioritize health over smoking/quit smoking;

Perhaps, you can save your family and those around you,

so they are no longer "seasoned" victims of secondhand smoke;

Perhaps, everyone can become Cheng Yong

Perhaps, we should conclude with a quote from the film's real-life protagonist:

(Xu Zheng with "Drug God" prototype Lu Yong)

I am a leukemia patient of 16 years,

I don't smoke, I don't drink,

As a "seasoned" leukemia patient,

Thank you all for your concern for us.