A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950’s. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George’s father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960’s, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960’s, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.
Blow is a 2001 American biographical crime film about the American cocaine smuggler George Jung, directed by Ted Demme. David McKenna and Nick Cassavetes adapted Bruce Porter’s 1993 book Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellín Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All[2] for the screenplay. It is based on the real-life stories of George Jung, Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder Rivas (portrayed in the film as Diego Delgado), and the Medellín Cartel. The film’s title comes from a slang term for cocaine. Blow was the final theatrical film directed by Demme to be released in his lifetime.
About the Story
A young George Jung and his parents Fred and Ermine live in Weymouth, Massachusetts. When George is ten years old, Fred files for bankruptcy, but tries to make George realize that money is not important. As an adult, George moves to Los Angeles with his friend “Tuna”; they meet Barbara, an airline stewardess, who introduces them to Derek Foreal, a marijuana dealer.
With Derek’s help, George and Tuna make a lot of money. Kevin Dulli, a college student back in Boston, visits them and tells them of the demand for marijuana in Boston. They start selling marijuana in Boston. They start buying marijuana directly from Mexico with the help of Santiago Sanchez, a Mexican drug lord. Two years later, George is caught in Chicago trying to import 660 pounds (300 kg) of marijuana and is sentenced to two years. After unsuccessfully trying to plead his innocence, George skips bail to take care of Barbara, who dies from cancer. Her death marks the disbanding of the group of friends; even his friend, Tuna, flees their vacation home in Mexico and is never seen again.
While hiding from the authorities, George visits his parents. George’s mother calls the police, who arrest him. George is sentenced to 26 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. His cellmate Diego Delgado has contacts in the Medellín cocaine cartel and convinces George to help him go into business. Upon his release from prison, George violates his parole conditions and heads down to Cartagena, Colombia to meet with Diego.
They meet with cartel officer Cesar Rosa to negotiate the terms for smuggling 15 kilograms (33 lb) to establish “good faith”. As the smuggling operation grows, Diego gets arrested, leaving George to find a way to sell 50 kg (110 lb). George reconnects with Derek in California, and the two sell all the cocaine. George then goes to Medellín, Colombia, where he meets Pablo Escobar, who agrees to go into business with them.
With the help of Derek, the pair becomes Escobar’s top U.S. importer. At Diego’s wedding, George meets Cesar’s fiancée Mirtha and later marries her. However, Diego resents George for keeping Derek’s identity secret and pressures George to reveal his connection. George eventually discovers that Diego has betrayed him by cutting him out of the connection with Derek. Inspired by the birth of his daughter and a drug-related heart attack, George severs his relationship with the cartel.
All goes well with George’s newfound civilian life for five years, until Mirtha organizes a 38th birthday party for him. Many of his former drug associates attend, including Derek, who reveals that Diego eventually cut him out as well. The FBI and DEA raid the party and arrest George. George becomes a fugitive, and his bank account—heretofore under Manuel Noriega’s protection in Panama—is seized by Noriega.
One night, he and Mirtha get into a fight while driving. They are pulled over by police and Mirtha tells them Jung is a fugitive and has stashed a kilogram of cocaine in his trunk. He is sent to jail for three years, Mirtha divorces him, and takes custody of their nine-year-old daughter, Kristina “Sunshine” Jung.
Blow (2001)
Directed by: Ted Demme
Starring: Johnny Depp, Jordi Mollà, Penélope Cruz, Ray Liotta, Paul Reubens, Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths, Jordi Mollà, Cliff Curtis, Miguel Sandoval, Ethan Suplee
Screenplay by: David McKenna, Nick Cassavetes
Production Design by: Michael Z. Hanan
Cinematography by: Ellen Kuras
Film Editing by: Kevin Tent
Costume Design by: Mark Bridges
Set Decoration by: Douglas A. Mowat
Art Direction by: David Ensley
Music by: Graeme Revell
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive drug content and language, some violence and sexuality.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: April 6, 2001
Visits: 225
