''Hidden Man'' () is a 2018 Chinese

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

co-written and directed by

Jiang Wen Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor, screenwriter, and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred wit ...

and starring

Eddie Peng Eddie Peng Yu-Yan (; born 24 March 1982) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. Personal life Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of thirteen. In 2000, he graduated from Sir Winston Church ...

Liao Fan Liao Fan (; born 14 February 1974) is a Chinese film and theatre actor. He is a graduate of Shanghai Theatre Academy. In February 2014 he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, for his performance i ...

, Jiang Wen,

Zhou Yun Zhou Yun (; born 17 December 1978) is a Chinese actress. Zhou is noted for her roles as Hua Jie and Shu Man in the film and television series ''Let the Bullets Fly'' and ''Golden Marriage 2'' respectively. Life Early life Zhou was born in a m ...

, and

Xu Qing Xu Qing (; born 22 January 1969), known also as Summer Qing, is a Chinese actress. She was accepted into the acting class of Beijing Film Academy in 1988 and graduated in 1992. Career Xu made her debut in the 1990 film '' Life on a String'', ...

. The film is an adaptation of Zhang Beihai's

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

novel ''Xia Yin''. The film was released on July 13, 2018, in China. It was selected as the Chinese entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, A ...

, but it was not nominated.

Premise

In 1922 in rural China, a gang brutally murders a whole family. Li, a young boy, is the sole survivor of the slaughter.

Cast

Production

Wuxi Zizai Film and Television Company Limited bought the film rights to the

novel ''Xia Yin'' () written by Zhang Beihai. The film became the third in a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

, with two prequels, ''

Let the Bullets Fly ''Let the Bullets Fly'' is a 2010 Chinese action comedy film written and directed by Jiang Wen, based on a story by Ma Shitu. The film is set in Sichuan during the 1920s when the bandit Zhang (Jiang Wen) descends upon a town posing as its new gove ...

'' (2010) and ''

Gone with the Bullets ''Gone with the Bullets'' (Chinese: 一步之遥) is a 2014 Chinese film directed by Jiang Wen and also starring Jiang Wen, Ge You, Zhou Yun and Shu Qi. Production started on location in Beijing at the China Film Group studio in Huairou on October ...

'' (2014). Filming locations included

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

. American actor

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

was supposed to appear in a scene, but this was cut after Spacey's sexual assault allegations came to light.

Release

On May 15, 2018, the producers announced that the film was scheduled for release on July 13, 2018. The film premiered in

on July 10 with wide-release in China on July 13. The film earned $17.9 million on opening day, totaling $46.5 million after three days.

Awards and nominations

Reception

''Variety'' called the film a "good-looking but convoluted period romp."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hidden Man 2018 films 2010s Mandarin-language films 2018 action comedy films Chinese action comedy films Films directed by Jiang Wen Films shot in Beijing Films shot in Shaanxi Films shot in Yunnan Films based on Chinese novels Second Sino-Japanese War films Films scored by Nicolas Errèra