Chasing the Dragon

2014 • 51 minutes

About this movie

A woman emerges with her 2-year-old son, hardly the usual target for a search, but the drugs squad is in full swing and no one is beyond suspicion. She reveals a bag containing handfuls of condoms filled with "Ice" - a methamphetamine that is infiltrating the Chinese party scene. "Do you have any more?" She shakes her head, looking worried as her child innocently giggles in the background. Hardly a big-time criminal, this woman is yet another pawn of criminal groups prepared to risk everything for a couple of hundred dollars.
It's a relatively new phenomenon for China, but with it's growing affluence, drug culture is booming: "The consumers are mainly young people. Among them, it can form a kind of culture - a smoking subculture", Professor Wu Jiang explains. Seizures of Metamphetamine on the borders are up 26% and drug related crime is up 20% on last year, while there are 6 times as many drug takers as 20 years ago. In super-cities like Shanghai, the partying young are driving a booming market into so-called recreational drugs. "If you are going to build a city to promote the drug trade in China it will probably look like Shanghai. This metropolis is an affluence factory". It's home to 23 million people and is a massive new market for the drug dealers of the Golden Triangle and beyond.
We're taken to seldom seen corners of this dramatically changing place. From remote routes between Burma and China, holes dotted across fence borders, and checkpoints swarming with drug squads. "It was probably inevitable that as China opened up to all things foreign, illegal drugs would eventually spread through cities in larger numbers". Although the level of drug taking may still be rather small comparatively across the globe, Chinese cities are only part of a much wider problem. "The important thing is trajectory, and it's only going in one direction - up".

Ratings and reviews

This is where I get upset with reading reviews of others stating "hey this isn't a movie" and "what a scam because it isn't a movie ". Don't you know to read what it states clearly underneath the Title "Documentary" Did you forget to read that part. Before you buy/rent read it all carefully and read some reviews to see if worth watching. Sometimes they state if a movie or documentary Then if you look to the right where it shows Similar you would also see that they bring up the "Chasing the Dragon" Movie starring Andy Lau on the side usually. Read properly before you buy/rent then you won't be putting up ridiculous reviews and you wouldn't be paying any money would you? Read some other reviews to see if any good or not. The Movie itself is a known classic. Andy Lau is a top actor. and as for the documentary, well it wasn't my cup of tea but still I knew it was a Documentary and that there are 2 Chasing the Dragon movies. Both classics in their own right. You don't have to like them or the genre but as I said read carefully and you won't waste your time or money.

It was okay. A decent insight into the drug trade / drug consumption environment in China. A little bit boring and the presenter was a bit of a weird dude. I'd recommend watching it if its available for free.. .not sure about paying to rent it.

trying to scam you by pretending this is another movie