Tian xia wu zei (A World Without Thieves)

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  May 13, 2008

  BlueTorch

  Chinese films excel at staying focused on the main themes and not deviating, and 'A World Without Thieves' is no exception. The majority of the action is within plain sight of the civilians, yet still kept secret, which is a really neat gimmick. The main cast have clear charact...( read more)eristics and motives, which means as a viewer, you very quickly become attached to them from the start. And hey, who doesn't love a classic Chinese ending? ...

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  October 27, 2009

  tpb0

  Andy Lau is the king!!!

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• 
  
  October 15, 2009

  SpunkyJamez

  This was just BAD! I liked Li Bingbing. She's hot as usual. Her character doesn't do so much, which is a shame. The story is just crap. It didn't have much of depth and substance. There was little of interesting characters. Some weren't very likeable and some were just pure annoy...( read more)ing. Acting was terrible from the cast. There's a lot of fail in this, in fact there's some epic fail. This doesn't have much to be really excited about. There were some scenes that I liked a bit. When they tried filming fight scenes, they just shot too close and I couldn't tell what the hell was going on. This is just a silly film with very little enjoyment to be found.

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  August 14, 2009

  SDphotoggirl

  I really enjoyed this film. A modern day film with a touch of the martial arts to it and the acting was well done. Especially Any Lau and Rene Liu. Very beautifully shot as well.

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  July 25, 2009

  ikhypk

  a heartwarming and powerful drama from an assemble cast from HK,china and taiwan. good acting performances as well.

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  January 21, 2009

  wassadudes

  Great story, great morals, great cast, and good action. The topic was very unique because you rarely see how thieves work. The act of stealing and the camera placement was also very well choosen to illustrate the full action, objective and stealth.

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• 
  
  June 30, 2008

  RabiaSACLIK

  In the space of just a few months at the end of 2004, Andy Lau made two films that examined that age-old story of the master thief. 'Yesterday Once More', while a reasonably big success in Hong Kong financially, was a pallid, superficial production that featured characters with s...( read more)o little appeal that the overall film collapsed in the middle. Meanwhile, Feng Xiaogang's attempt at a deeper look at thieves and morality, 'A World Without Thieves', sank without a trace in Hong Kong, but chalked up an impressive gross in its native China. Whether this indicates that the Hong Kong populace have little interest in the earthy, more ambitious productions of their Mainland cousins has been debated, but there's no doubt that the two films tackle their subject in very differing ways.
  Wang Bo (Lau) and Wang Li (Liu) are two wily thieves who are partners in crime and in romance. Using their various skills to trick and extort money from a wealthy, but odious Chinese businessman, they head into the Chinese wilderness to plan their next move. During the journey, Li announces that she wants to dissolve the partnership and is feeling particularly guilty about their long life of crime. The indignant Bo leaves her in the wilderness and drives off to further his own dubious career. Coming to her rescue is a guileless young worker nicknamed Dumbo and his sheer wide-eyed innocence leaves an impression on the contemplative Li. Dumbo has saved his earnings as a craftsman to return home, marry and build a house and heads off to catch the train across China, despite his colleagues warnings about the various thieves that infest the land. Li decides to act as his protector and gain some measure of redemption. On boarding the train, Li and Dumbo meet Bo who has followed his old partner throughout her travels and is very eager to get his hands on Dumbo's savings. Also making the long train journey is a band of master thieves lead by enigmatic, idiom-spouting Uncle Li who are also alerted to the possessions of the innocent traveller.
  While 'Yesterday Once More' presented its two criminal leads as some kind of opulent superheroes, 'A World Without Thieves' gives a far more realistic and damning account of this 'profession'. Feng Xiaogang doesn't try to turn his characters into people we, the audience, should be in awe of; his approach shows all of the dishonest and duplicitous battles that are constantly fought among them. Though Bo and Li are shown with their ill-gotten gains, the director is careful not to make the mistake that Johnnie To made when he presented two unpleasant lead characters with a kind of lifestyle we were meant to envy. For this more introspective look at the theme, Feng Xiaogang deserves at least some credit.
  Saying that 'A World Without Thieves' is a far more capable film than 'Yesterday Once More' is hardly saying much though - it's a bit like saying that a slap in the face is better than being shot by a crossbow. Indeed, this production has flaws of its own which, although not quite as obvious as Johnnie To's lazy production, still hamper whatever hope there is of this being a first-rate success. Initially there is a solid theme to the film, with the message of redemption and the contrast between the purity of Dumbo and the shady individuals that surround him making for an enticing examination. Eventually, 'A World Without Thieves' gets a little too absorbed in its crafty villains and their constant battles to make a deeper impression.
  For the first half of the film, the juxtaposition of Dumbo and the thieves has a pleasing tone that actually commends the innocence of the reluctant hero. While his complete trust in everyone around him seems a tad too overplayed, Feng Xioagang does have an admirable respect for his pivotal character. Dumbo's description of the honesty of his home village is a touching contrast to the scurrilous Uncle Li and his cohorts. Though Dumbo is an obvious tool to signify vindication and a means for Wang Bo to show her own change of heart, it works quite adequately for the film-maker's needs.
  As the film heads towards the hour mark though, the whole theme it had painstakingly set up is dismantled and the remaining 50 minutes becomes an empty series of repetitive tricks. There's only so many times that Dumbo's stash can be stolen and replaced without a distinct feeling of disinterest creeping up on the viewer. Dumbo, as a character, gradually disappears from the narrative and it is left to Bo and Uncle Li's employees to exchange pointless displays of talent and bravado. Feng Xiaogang also becomes over-absorbed with the kind of flashy, quick edit slow motion that has made fools of countless directors. A well told story with crafted characters will always show a director's credentials far better than these empty tricks.
  'A World Without Thieves' also suffers from having to rely on characters who produce little empathy even though they're evidently meant to. Wang Li is primarily shown as a woman whose redemptive actions towards Dumbo would appear to show a genuine change of heart; eventually, though, Li's change owes more to a gnawing self-pity than any genuine care for Dumbo. This is certainly unintentional, but it still resonates fairly powerfully at the end. Meanwhile Wang Bo is shown as a thoroughly selfish individual who is then 'redeemed' by some closing actions; such a change from the threatening, self-interested criminal to the altruist is romanticised, but never sympathetic.
  One area where the film excels is the visual power it transmits. Despite some poor-CGI, the cinematography is luscious as is the sumptuous Chinese landscapes. Even in the confines of the train - where most of the story takes place - there is a visual glow that imbues the production with a certain elegance. Wang Liguang's musical score also dovetails nicely with the epic vistas that the drama is played out against. Although there is a lapse into a series of Mandarin ballads that add little potency to the story, the sweeping score that permeates most of the film is a major asset.
  'A World Without Thieves' is entertaining, but never fully achieves what it aspires to. Andy Lau and Rene Liu in particular acquit themselves well with their roles, as do the varied supporting players. Nevertheless, this is a lustrous production that flatters to deceive, aiming for the intellect, but eventually preferring to show empty spectacle and supposed depth.

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• 
  
  March 4, 2008

  WishingUponAnAngel

  Absolutely stunning acting, cinematography, and effects. Storyline is a typical Chinese tragedy, which is getting really kinda annoying...

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