Directed by Wen Muye • 2018 • China
Starring Xu Zheng, Zhou Yiwei, Wang Chuanjun
Based on the true story of a Robin Hood–esque people’s hero who took on big pharma, this rousing blend of comedy and social drama was a box-office smash in China that actually effected change in government policy regarding drug prices. Our unlikely protagonist is Cheng Yong (Xu Zheng), a middle-aged, deadbeat Shanghai shopkeeper who sees a chance to make a quick buck by smuggling a cheap, generic drug used to treat leukemia from India into China. But what begins as a purely selfish act gradually changes Cheng into a crusader for the greater good as he realizes his enterprise has the power to save lives.
Up Next in Chinese Crime Thrillers
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The Wild Goose Lake
Directed by Diao Yinan • 2019 • China
Starring Hu Ge, Gwei Lun-mei, Liao FanWhen small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) accidentally kills a cop, a dead-or-alive bounty is placed on his head, forcing him on the lam from both the police as well as dangerous gangsters out for the reward. Hidin...
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Only the River Flows
Directed by Wei Shujun • 2023 • China
Starring Zhu Yilong, Chloe Maayan, Hou TianlaiWhen a woman’s body washes up on the shore in small-town China in the 1990s, the local chief of police, Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong), is tasked with leading the investigation. An obvious suspect leads to a hasty arrest, ...
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Chongqing Hot Pot
Directed by Yang Qing • 2016 • China
Starring Chen Kun, Bai Baihe, Qin HaoThis wild, genre-blasting blend of rollicking comedy and blood-spattered crime caper follows three friends who, when they open a hot pot restaurant in a former bomb shelter, are surprised to discover that it’s linked by a...
