''A World Without Thieves'' () is a 2004 Chinese action drama film directed by

Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician. He is well known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box of ...

and starring

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

Rene Liu Rene Liu Ruo-ying (; born 1 June, 1969) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actress, director and writer. In the Sinophone world, Liu is widely known by her affectionate nickname "Milk Tea". Her music often focuses on love stories and has built an ...

Ge You Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, often with a bald shaven pate, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in China. He became the first Asian actor to win the Cannes ...

, Wang Baoqiang and

Li Bingbing Li Bingbing (; born 27 February 1973) is a Chinese actress and singer who rose to fame with her role in '' Seventeen Years'' (1999) and since then received critical acclaim for her roles in ''A World Without Thieves'' (2004), '' Waiting Alone'' (2 ...

. The film is an adaptation of a 1999 novelette of the same title by Zhao Benfu. The original story is moderately different from the film adaptation. The film was first released in Shanghai, China on 5 December 2004. It clinched the 2005

Golden Horse Award The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

for Best Screenplay Adaptation. The film was released in Hong Kong with

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

dubbing provided by Lau for his own role, Anthony Wong for the role of Uncle Li, and

Chapman To use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...

for the role of Sha Gen. The plot is centered on a naïve village boy who does not believe in the existence of thieves. Returning home on board a train with his savings, he soon becomes the target of many thieves. The film explores the theme of the fundamental human goodness and also addresses humorously the issue of rampant thievery on public transport in

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

Plot

The story is set primarily on a train bound inland from

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

. Sha Gen ("Dumbo" in the U.S. version, played by Wang Baoqiang), a naïve village boy working as construction worker in Tibet, was returning home to get married. Refusing to believe that thieves exist in the world, Sha Gen insists on carrying his five years of savings worth ¥60,000 ($8,400

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) with him rather than use remittance. Sha Gen also brazenly shouts his earnings in a crowded street. As such, he has attracted the attention of Wang Bo (Andy Lau) and Wang Li (Rene Liu), who are lovers as well as highly skilled professional thieves. Wang Bo wants to steal the money as a last hit to end their career, but Wang Li, pregnant with their child and moved by Sha Gen's innocence, decides to protect the boy. The situation is further complicated when a small gang of thieves led by Hu Li (

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...

of ''fox'' (狐狸 ''Húli'') in Chinese), also known as Uncle Li (

), boards the train. Uncle Li instructs his followers, among them Xiao Ye (

) and Four-Eyes (

Gordon Lam Gordon Lam Ka-tung (林家棟; born 21 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor, film producer and screenwriter. Initially known for his supporting roles in films directed by Andrew Lau and Johnnie To, Lam eventually became a lead actor in the Ho ...

), to refrain from doing a job on the train. Tempted by the huge amount of cash, however, some members disobey and strike, only to be robbed by Wang Bo moments later. This exposes Wang's skills to Uncle Li, who becomes highly interested in recruiting him. When Wang declines, the contest between the Wangs and Uncle Li's gang quickly escalates, with Sha Gen still completely unaware of the danger surrounding him. While the two sides tussle, however, a plainclothes police detective (

Zhang Hanyu Zhang Hanyu (born 19 December 1964) is a Chinese actor. Zhang became the first Chinese actor to win the "Grand Slam", winning Best Actor trophies from the Golden Horse Awards, Golden Rooster Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards and Huabiao Awards. L ...

) has been silently watching and awaiting his chance. As the police force eventually closes in, Uncle Li attempts to make off with Sha Gen's money but is confronted by Wang Bo, who has finally promised to lend his help to Wang Li to protect Sha Gen's innocence. The two engage in a violent hand-to-hand combat. Although Wang succeeds in retrieving the money and giving it back, he is seriously injured in the fray, and subsequently dies. Uncle Li and his gang are all apprehended as the train pulls into station, but the police officer lets Wang Li go on compassionate grounds. Wang Li returns to Tibet sometime later, and prays to the heavens in a show of penance.

Cast

as Wang Bo (C: 王薄, P: ''Wáng Bó'') *

as Wang Li (S: 王丽, T: 王麗, P: ''Wáng Lì'') *

as Hu Li, a.k.a. Uncle Li (C: 黎叔, P: ''Lí-shū''), *

as Xiao Ye (S: 小叶, T: 小葉, P: ''Xiǎo Yè'', "Little Ye") * Wang Baoqiang as Sha Gen (C: 傻根, P: ''Shǎ Gēn'', "Foolish Root," "Dumbo" in the U.S. version) * You Yong as Thief Number Two (S: 二当家, T: 二當家, P: ''Èr Dāngjiā'') or "Fatty" (), follower of Uncle Li *

as Four-Eyes (C: 四眼, P: ''Sìyǎn'') *

as police detective (C: 警察 ''Jǐngchá'') *

Fu Biao Fu Biao (September 27, 1963 – August 30, 2005) was a Chinese actor. Biography Fu Biao was born in the family of an army officer on September 27, 1963, in Beijing. After graduating from high school, he entered a film academy in Beijing to learn ...

as General Manager Liu (S: 刘经理, P: 劉經理, P: ''Liú-jīnglǐ''), a previous victim of the Wangs *

Xu Fan Xu Fan (, born 16 August 1967) is a Chinese actress and Asian Film Awards winner. She married film director Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician ...

as General Manager Liu's wife * Fan Wei as fat robber *

Feng Yuanzheng Feng Yuanzheng (; born November 16, 1962 in Beijing) is a Chinese actor. Selected filmography *1995: ''Postman'' *1998: '' Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito'' *2003: ''Purple Butterfly'' *2004: ''A World Without Thieves'' *2004: ''Shanghai ...

as thin robber * Zhong Ping as plain-clothes policewoman *

Chen Zhihui Chen Zhihui is a Chinese actor best known for playing supporting roles in various films and television series since the 1980s. Some of his more notable roles in film include: Master Chin in '' Jet Li's Fearless'' (2006); Zhang Fei in '' Three Ki ...

Reception

The film recorded ¥100,000 in box office earnings on its premier night in Beijing. Within ten days of release the total box office earnings in

exceeded ¥80 million. This figure rose to ¥100 million on the last day of 2004. This, together with a comparable box office achievement by the Stephen Chow production ''

Kung Fu Hustle ''Kung Fu Hustle'' ( zh, c=功夫, l=Kung Fu) is a 2004 Cantonese-language action comedy film directed, produced, co-written by, and starring Stephen Chow. The film tells the story of a murderous neighbourhood gang, a poor village with unlik ...

'', released within the same month, has been hailed as a new milestone for the Chinese film industry. However, the film did not do as well in the Hong Kong market. Almost two months after the film's release,

China Post China Post, legally the China Post Group Corporation ( zh, 中国邮政集团有限公司, Pinyin: ''Zhōngguó yóuzhèng jítuán yǒuxiàn gōngsī''), is the state-owned enterprise operating the official postal service of China, which pro ...

voiced dissatisfaction over the film's misguiding information on the administrative charges for remitting money through China Post. In a scene, Sha Gen claimed that remitting ¥60,000 requires an administrative charge of ¥600. China Post verified that it would only require ¥100 and said it would not rule out seeking damages."邮政部门要起诉《天下无贼》:误导宣传汇兑业务"
''法制晚报'', 28 January 2005

Awards and nominations

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is u ...

, 2005 ** Best Screenplay Adaptation –

, Wang Gang, Lin Lisheng, Zhang Jialu ** Best Picture (nominated) ** Best Action Choreography (nominated) ** Best Editing (nominated) *

24th Hong Kong Film Awards The 24th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held on 27 March 2005, in the Hong Kong Coliseum and hosted by Carol Cheng and Lawrence Cheng. Twenty-nine winners in nineteen categories were unveiled, with films ''Kung Fu Hustle'' and ''2046'' being th ...

, 2005 ** Best Asian Film (nominated) * Golden Bauhinia Awards, 2005 ** Best Leading Actress –

** Top Ten Chinese Films *

Montréal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

, 2005 ** Grand Prix des Amériques (nominated) *

Hundred Flowers Awards The Hundred Flowers Awards () are, together with the Golden Rooster Awards, the most prestigious film awards honouring the best in Chinese cinema, as well as Hong Kong cinema and the Cinema of Taiwan, they are classified as the Chinese equiv ...

, 2006 ** Best Leading Actress – Rene Liu

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:World Without Thieves, A 2004 films 2000s action films 2004 martial arts films 2000s crime films Chinese action films Chinese crime drama films Chinese martial arts films Hong Kong action films Hong Kong martial arts films Films based on short fiction 2000s Mandarin-language films Media Asia films Films directed by Feng Xiaogang Films set on trains Films with screenplays by Zhang Jialu Huayi Brothers films Films shot in Beijing Films shot in Gansu Films based on Chinese novels 2000s Hong Kong films