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

Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang ( zh, s=冯小刚, t=馮小剛, p=Féng Xiǎogāng; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese filmmaker and actor. Rising to fame for directing comedies, Feng played a pivotal role in shaping the Chinese New Year films, with f ...

and starring

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...

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. One of the most critically acclaimed performers in China, Ge is known for his signature bald head, comic timing, and intelligent, subtle acting. Ge became the first Asian actor to win the Best A ...

Wang Baoqiang Wang Baoqiang (; born 29 May 1984) is a Chinese martial artist, actor and director. Wang first received recognition in the film '' Blind Shaft'' (2003), for which he shared the Best New Performer prize at the Golden Horse Awards. He went on to ...

and

Li Bingbing Li Bingbing ( zh, c=李冰冰, p=Lǐ Bīngbīng; born February 27, 1973) is a Chinese actress. She gained critical acclaim for her role in '' Seventeen Years'' (1999) and received widespread success with films such as '' A World Without Thieve ...

. A Chinese-Hong Kong co-production, 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on 5 December 2004. It clinched the 2005

Golden Horse Award The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Awards () are a film festival and associated awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. The festival and ceremony were founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republ ...

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

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

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

Chapman To Chapman To (, born 8 June 1972), born Edward Ng Cheuk-cheung (), is a Hong Kong-Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in films such as ''Infernal Affairs'' and ''Initial D (film), Initial D''. He is also the founder of his own multimedia ...

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 thievery on public transport in

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

Plot

The story is set primarily on a train bound inland from

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. Sha Gen ("Dumbo" in the U.S. version, played by

), 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: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) 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 as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

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 Hong ...

), 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) 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 () *

as Wang Li () *

as Hu Li, a.k.a. Uncle Li (), *

as Xiao Ye () *

as Sha Gen ( "Dumbo" in the U.S. version) *

You Yong You Yong (born 13 December 1963) is a Chinese actor. He enrolled in the Xi'an Drama School (西安话剧院) in 1979 and joined the Shanghai Theatre Academy Shanghai Theatre Academy () is a municipal public college for dramatic art education ...

as Thief Number Two () or "Fatty" (), follower of Uncle Li *

as Four-Eyes () * Zhang Hanyu as police detective () *

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 (), a previous victim of the Wangs * Xu Fan 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: '' Shang ...

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 Kin ...

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 Stephen Chow Sing-chi (; born 22 June 1962) is a Hong Kong filmmaker and former actor, known for his mo lei tau comedy. His career began in television, where he gained recognition through variety shows and TV dramas. Chow's breakthrough came in 1 ...

production ''

Kung Fu Hustle ''Kung Fu Hustle'' ( zh, c=功夫, l=Kung Fu) is a 2004 Martial arts film, martial arts action comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the leading role, alongside Eva Huang, Huang Shengyi, Yuen Wah, Yue ...

'', 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, officially the China Post Group Corporation, is the national postal service corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. It is incorporated as a state-owned enterprise. China Post shares its office with the sub-ministry- ...

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 Taipei Golden Horse Awards () are a film festival and associated awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. The festival and ceremony were founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Repub ...

, 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 t ...

, 2005 ** Best Asian Film (nominated) *

Golden Bauhinia Awards The Golden Bauhinia Awards () were Hong Kong film awards organised by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association. Its first award presentation ceremony took place in 1996. The award attracted controversy in 2007, when ten nominations were given to ...

, 2005 ** Best Leading Actress –

** Top Ten Chinese Films *

Montréal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.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 2004 action films 2004 martial arts films 2004 crime drama 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