At the North American premiere of I'm Not the God of Medicine, Xu Can attended with the production staff since the producers and actors were still in China.
Given the typical aversion to foreign language films in North America, Xu Can didn't expect The God of Medicine to be a box office hit there. It wouldn't have been surprising if the theater occupancy rate was under 10%.
The Chinese are used to subtitles, making it easier for them to watch foreign films. However, for most North American audiences, foreign films with English subtitles are less accessible, and few theaters even offer them. This is why foreign language films often struggle at the North American box office. For example, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon holds the top spot with only $130 million. Even Life Is Beautiful, an incredibly high-quality film, only managed $58 million. Hero by Zhang Yimou earned $54 million due to its spectacular visual effects.
By contrast, Xu Can's purely dramatic Chinese film had an uphill battle. Hollywood media speculated based on the trailer that Xu Can was trying a new genre. His cinematic language and narrative style were described as mature and sharp, and while the film had potential for critical acclaim, its box office performance was less certain due to its serious theme and foreign language barrier.
Though the premiere was packed, that didn't guarantee commercial success—it merely indicated Xu Can's dedicated fan base. Many attendees were from the Chinese community in Los Santos, with Xu Can already enjoying significant influence among North American Chinese. He was seen as a representative of the entire Asian community, with fans from China, Japan, and South Korea coming to support him.
Walking the red carpet with Swifty and "Sister Shitou" (Emma Stone), Xu Can was warmly welcomed by a standing ovation. Once seated, Xu Can couldn't help but jest with them, wondering why they were present since they weren't involved in the movie. Emma Stone responded that she thought Swifty was attending, while Swifty retorted that Xu Can had previously invited her to his premieres. Both women, despite not having a direct connection to the film, attended in full support. Xu Can, of course, welcomed their presence, knowing that their star power added to the buzz around the premiere.
When Galaxy Entertainment's spaceship title animation appeared on screen, the film officially began.
The movie opened with a stark and realistic portrayal of life on a Chinese city street, as captured by Xu Can's cold yet beautiful cinematography. The simple, everyday activities—smoke rising from street food stalls, pedestrians walking, commuters on bicycles—immersed the North American audience into a foreign world, making them feel as if they were transported into a Chinese city thousands of miles away.
The protagonist, Cheng Yong (played by Xu Can), was introduced sitting in his textile store, with a look of utter hopelessness on his face. Unlike the stylishly worn-out characters from his earlier film John Wick, Cheng Yong was just a down-and-out middle-aged man, wearing ragged flip-flops with a defeated expression. His appearance was so unlike the polished Xu Can in real life that Swifty and Emma Stone nearly choked on their drinks, hardly believing it was the same person they knew.
Xu Can's nuanced performance left both of them impressed, with Emma Stone confessing that she underestimated the depth of his acting.
Xu Can's film deviated from the original Dying to Survive plot. While the original protagonist, Cheng Yong, sold a magical oil from India, Xu Can's version was more grounded in reality. His protagonist was a small textile shop owner who, due to leukemia, was forced to buy expensive life-saving medication. His family's finances were in ruin, and he relied on occasional textile export deals to make ends meet. Despite having once been wealthy, Cheng Yong's household was now in disarray, further showcasing the toll his illness had taken on his family.
Unlike the original, Xu Can's film respected the real-life inspiration, Lu Yong, and avoided the controversy of defamation that plagued the original movie. His version was more realistic and empathetic, as Cheng Yong was portrayed as a man simply trying to survive, not a caricature of a con artist.
Film critics in the audience, including the likes of Roger Ebert, were immediately captivated by the emotional depth and realism of the film. Critics who had once dismissed Xu Can as merely a director of spectacle films were now seeing his true artistry. They praised his ability to strip down the narrative and characters to their most basic, human forms, and yet still maintain a gripping emotional resonance.
Even William, a critic who had previously criticized Xu Can, was taken aback by the simplicity and authenticity of the film. It wasn't driven by CGI or action-packed sequences but by raw emotion and the realities of life for ordinary people. The movie was nothing like Xu Can's past projects—there were no flashy stunts or complex choreography, just a powerful story of struggle, compassion, and survival.
As the movie unfolded, the audience witnessed Cheng Yong's journey from a disillusioned shop owner, contemplating suicide due to his illness, to a man who reluctantly became a smuggler of life-saving drugs. When a fellow patient, Lu Yiyi, first approached Cheng Yong to smuggle generic drugs from India, he was dismissive. But, realizing the enormous cost difference between the genuine and generic medications, he agreed, not out of altruism but a desire to save himself and make some money in the process.
Cheng Yong's transformation was gradual. He wasn't initially concerned with saving others. However, as he became more involved with the drug trade and met more patients, including the sexy yet desperate dancer Liu Sihui (played by Song Qian), he began to care more for the lives he was impacting. The ensemble cast, including Wang Chuanjun, Zhang Yu, and Yang Xinmin, all gave stellar performances, each portraying the different ways that desperation and illness affect people's lives.
Even North American audiences, who typically shy away from foreign language films, were engrossed in the movie. The emotional power of the performances transcended language barriers. The narrative's blend of seriousness with occasional moments of levity made the movie accessible to a broader audience. It felt as exciting and engaging as a heist film like Ocean's Eleven, but with the emotional weight of a deeply human story.
Film critic Roger Ebert declared the film the best of the year halfway through. Even the more cynical William agreed, praising the film for being the best foreign-language film he had ever seen.
I'm Not the God of Medicine was not just a movie—it was a masterpiece, one that could break barriers and redefine what a foreign-language film could achieve in North America.