''Who Am I?'' (, also known as ''Jackie Chan's Who Am I?'') is a 1998 Hong Kong

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 acti ...

directed by Benny Chan and

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

, who also starred in the lead role. The film was released in Hong Kong on 17 January 1998. It is also Chan's second film to be scripted and shot in English, the first one being '' Mr. Nice Guy''.

Plot

Somewhere in the jungles of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

on Thanksgiving 1996, a multinational military unit named ''Special Force Unit'' ambushes a convoy and kidnaps several scientists working on a highly-volatile compound extracted from a recently discovered

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object ...

. Among the operatives is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

national identified as "

". The

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

assigns Morgan to investigate the incident, unaware that he and newly retired General Sherman orchestrated the abduction for their personal profit. At the same time, the CIA assigns another operative in South Africa for a more covert operation. Jackie wakes up in a tribal village somewhere in the African

veld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Bot ...

t, still recovering from injuries sustained in an accident he cannot remember. When asked for his name by the natives, he does not remember who he is and repeatedly asks himself, "Who Am I?". He is referred to as "Who Am I?" by the natives, as they think it is his name. The tribesmen show him the remains of a crashed helicopter and graves of those who perished aboard. "Who Am I?" spends weeks recuperating from his wounds and learning about the tribe's culture. After spotting

rally car Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

s from several miles away, "Who Am I?" bids the village farewell and ventures on a journey back to civilization. He befriends Japanese rally

co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...

Yuki after saving her brother from a snake bite and offering to help them finish the race. When they reach

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, "Who Am I?" meets Christine Stark, a journalist sent to interview him about his rally adventure. Morgan hears of "Who Am I?" and sends a hitman team to kill him. Morgan also pretends to be his ally, telling him to contact him if he is in danger. After escaping from the hitmen, Christine cracks a secret code written on a matchbook found on one of the dead operatives, which leads them to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

, in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. "Who Am I?" and Christine bid Yuki farewell and head for Rotterdam to find more answers to his identity. In Rotterdam, "Who Am I?" discovers that Christine is actually an undercover CIA agent who tapped his calls. Not knowing whom to trust, he battles Sherman's hitmen and sneaks into the ''Willemswerf'' skyscraper alone, where he discovers the masterminds behind the kidnapping of the scientists. It is revealed that Morgan and General Sherman are about to sell the extraterrestrial compound to an influential arms dealer named Armano. While waiting for the online

wire transfer Wire transfer, bank transfer, or credit transfer, is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or entity to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account, or through a transfer of cash at a cash ...

to finish, the three men leave the conference room for a coffee break – giving "Who Am I?" time to sneak in and steal the disc containing the compound information. He also cancels the transaction and sends the money to a children's charity, which infuriates Armano. Sherman and Armano send several men after "Who Am I?" to get the disc back. While in the process of escaping, "Who Am I?" defeats several hitmen and is found by Morgan. Once he discovers Morgan's betrayal, "Who Am I?" tries to kill Morgan, but is interrupted by Morgan's hitmen, who also try to take back the disc. "Who Am I?" fights them off and recovers the disk, but Morgan flees. "Who Am I?" regroups with Christine, who calls for the execution of a "Plan B". Several CIA agents join the pursuit of Morgan, cornering him on the

Erasmus Bridge The Erasmusbrug (English: "Erasmus Bridge") is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge, construction began in 1986 and was completed in 1996. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this ci ...

in cooperation with the

Royal Netherlands Marine Corps The Netherlands Marine Corps ( nl, Korps Mariniers) is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines trace their origins back to the establishment of the on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dutc ...

. Christine takes Morgan into custody and asks "Who Am I?" if he has the disc. He throws the disc off the bridge and tells Christine that he will return to Africa.

Cast

as Jackie Chan / Who Am I? * Michelle Ferre as Christine Stark *

Mirai Yamamoto is a Japanese actress. Her father is Kansai Yamamoto. Personal life Yamamoto was born in Tokyo, Japan. She met Kippei Shiina in 1995 when they worked together on the series , and began dating him after they co-starred in the 1998 film '' F ...

as Yuki Ohsato *

Ed Nelson Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series '' Peyton Place''. Nelson appeared in episodes of many TV programs, more than 50 mov ...

as General Sherman *

Ron Smerczak Ron Smerczak (3 July 1949 – 12 May 2019) was a British-born South African actor who had appeared in South African telenovelas and contributed to South African cinema. Early life Smerczak was born on 3 July 1949 in the UK. Smerczak attended t ...

as CIA Agent Morgan * David Vlok as Morgan's head assassin * Mike Ian Lambert as Peter (Morgan's hitman) *

Ron Smoorenburg Ron Smoorenburg (born 30 April 1974) is a Dutch martial artist and actor. He is best known for his film debut as the high-kicking henchman in the final fight of Jackie Chan's '' Who Am I?'' in 1998. He currently lives in Thailand, where he works ...

as Morgan's

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

hitman * Kwan Yung as Morgan's

Cai Li Fo Choy Lee Fut is a Chinese martial art and wushu style, founded in 1836 by Chan Heung (陳享). Choy Li Fut was named to honor the Buddhist monk Choy Fook (蔡褔, Cai Fu) who taught him Choy Gar, and Li Yau-San (李友山) who taught him ...

hitman * Yanick Mbali as Baba * Washington Sixolo as village chief * Tom Pompert as CIA chairman * Glory Simon as CIA secretary * Chip Bray as Armano * Frank Opperman as Internal security

Jackie Chan Stunt Team

* Andy Cheng * Rocky Lai * Nicky Li * Chan Man Ching * Sam Wong * Kwan Yung * Bradley James Allan * Paul Andreovski

Production notes

''Who Am I?'' was shot on locations in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and

between February and March 1997. The film features several landmarks such as Sun City in

, the Beurstraverse (which was portrayed by the film makers as being in Johannesburg), the

Cube house Cube houses ( nl, kubuswoningen) are a set of innovative houses built in Helmond and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, designed by architect Piet Blom and based on the concept of "living as an urban roof": high density housing with sufficient space ...

s and the Willemswerf building (which served as the headquarters of the villains and from the side of which, "Who Am I?" escaped by sliding to the ground). Dutch city

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after ...

was also used as a location on the Voorstraat, de Vleeshouwersstraat as well as the fountains by Hans Petri in front of the former Refaja hospital. The film also features an elaborate chase scene involving the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR and a pack of chasing

BMW 3 series (E36) The third generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model code E36, and was produced by the German automaker BMW from 1990 to 2000. The initial models were of the four-door sedan body style, followed ...

, in which Jackie, Yuki, and Christine (in the Evolution) attempt to escape from their captors. Several memorable stunts in the Evolution IV were featured, including a spin parking manoeuvre, market chase, and flipping the car onto its side and roof. In the making-of documentary, the team outlined the numerous Lancer Evolutions that were used for the entire sequence due to the harsh physical challenges presented by the stunts. The use of the Evolution IV was consistent with the ongoing presence and sponsorship of Mitsubishi in Jackie Chan's films of that era.

Box office

In Hong Kong, ''Who Am I?'' grossed HK$38,852,845 during its theatrical run. In China, it grossed at the box office. In Taiwan, it sold 155,211 tickets and grossed . In South Korea, film sold 193,293 tickets in

Seoul City Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

and 579,879 tickets nationwide, grossing . In Europe, the film sold 157,427 tickets in Germany, and 73,101 tickets in other European countries.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 67% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10.

Awards and nominations

Home media

United States

The U.S. DVD release is cut by 9 minutes with the following changes and omissions: * Unlike the original HK version of the film, the scene where Jackie Chan and his unit are double-crossed in the helicopter is shown immediately after the helicopters take off. This takes away the "big reveal" effect of what actually happened with Jackie and his men. * "Who Am I?"'s interaction with the African tribe has been reduced dramatically. Cuts include a scene in which he asks the tribal boy, Baba, how many days it takes to walk to civilization; a scene where he and Baba run away from a lioness after he picks up a lion cub; a scene showing the tribe's farewell ceremony for "Who Am I?"'s journey; and a scene in which he performs an interpretation of the tribal dance. * The rally race scene has been shortened. * A scene where "Who Am I?" recovers feeling in his mouth (as he chewed herbal leaves into an anesthetic to cure Yuki's brother's snake bite) and explains his situation to Yuki has been cut. * All but two instant replay shots (where Yuki, "Who Am I?" and Christine drive through a fruit stand, and where "Who Am I?" narrowly misses falling furniture in Rotterdam) have been deleted. Unlike other domestic releases of Jackie Chan's films, this version of ''Who Am I?'' retains the film's original musical score. Also, the U.S. release is the only cut which contains Jackie Chan's original spoken English during his time with the African tribe. The uncut HK releases have dubbed it in Cantonese.

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Universe Laser DVD (now out of print) contains the film as it was originally intended. The "double-cross" scene is not shown until during the interrogation scene as a "revelation flashback." It is meant to be a mystery as to what happened until the viewer sees these flashbacks. It also contains "Who Am I?"'s full interaction with the African tribe. However, his English dialogue during this interaction is dubbed into Cantonese during this part. There are English subtitles provided for the whole film. The presentation is not anamorphic, however.

Japan

Warner Bros. Japan Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. ...

has released two DVD editions of the film: the single-disc DVD contains the original Hong Kong cut of the film with an anamorphic presentation, but with no English subtitles, and it retains the Cantonese dub of Chan during the African tribe scenes. The two-disc anamorphic edition contains both versions of the film, with English subtitles for the U.S. cut.

References

External links

* * *
''Who Am I?''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Who Am I? (1997 Film) 1997 films 1997 action comedy films 1997 comedy films 1990s chase films 1990s spy comedy films Chinese New Year films 1990s English-language films English-language Hong Kong films Films about amnesia Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films directed by Benny Chan Films directed by Jackie Chan Films scored by Nathan Wang Films set in Rotterdam Films set in South Africa Films shot in Namibia Films shot in Rotterdam Films shot in South Africa Films with screenplays by Susan Chan Golden Harvest films Hong Kong action comedy films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films Media Asia films Films set in 1996 1990s Hong Kong films