I doubt anyone here has even heard of this movie, but I really enjoyed it. A World Without Thieves was released in China in 2004, and even though Americans have had a tendency to rerelease well made Chinese movies in the US(Hero, Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer, 2046, Crouching Tiger), they seemed to have missed the boat on this one.
Because of this, the only place I could find a copy of one with English subtitles was on Ebay. Still, I'm sure one could obtain the movie through other means that I cannot talk about on FFR.
The story centers around two thieves, Wang Li and Wang Bo(not related), who find themselves protecting a young and naive carpenter and his life savings from being stolen by another of thieves on board a train. To complicate things, there is a police insepector aboard the train who happens to be the man in charge of catching thieves. The cast contains some pretty (good) actors that you've probably never heard of except for Andy Lau of House of Flying Daggers.
Wang Li struggles to convince Bo(Andy Lau) that they should protect the carpenter, whose name translates something to the effect of "Dumbo," from the other band of thieves instead of taking his money.
The film allows the reader to develop their own opinion of the characters(watch Wang Bo transform from a thug to a Harrison Ford), and includes some pretty nice twists and a solid central theme(unlike most movies these days) that resonates throughout the film.
As for the ending, I didn't just cry- I wept. It was that sad. Yep.
Anyway, this is Christmas break for most people, so I'm sure that if you make it a priority to see this film, you will not be disappointed. As for a rating, I give it an A-.
Note that the movie is subtitled(obviously), so those who whine about reading subtitles can go cry about it, and for anyone who skipped the meat of my post, you must watch this movie.
The offician site is in Chinese, but there are some pretty cool stills nonetheless: www.aworldwithoutthieves.com
Because of this, the only place I could find a copy of one with English subtitles was on Ebay. Still, I'm sure one could obtain the movie through other means that I cannot talk about on FFR.
The story centers around two thieves, Wang Li and Wang Bo(not related), who find themselves protecting a young and naive carpenter and his life savings from being stolen by another of thieves on board a train. To complicate things, there is a police insepector aboard the train who happens to be the man in charge of catching thieves. The cast contains some pretty (good) actors that you've probably never heard of except for Andy Lau of House of Flying Daggers.
Wang Li struggles to convince Bo(Andy Lau) that they should protect the carpenter, whose name translates something to the effect of "Dumbo," from the other band of thieves instead of taking his money.
The film allows the reader to develop their own opinion of the characters(watch Wang Bo transform from a thug to a Harrison Ford), and includes some pretty nice twists and a solid central theme(unlike most movies these days) that resonates throughout the film.
As for the ending, I didn't just cry- I wept. It was that sad. Yep.
Anyway, this is Christmas break for most people, so I'm sure that if you make it a priority to see this film, you will not be disappointed. As for a rating, I give it an A-.
Note that the movie is subtitled(obviously), so those who whine about reading subtitles can go cry about it, and for anyone who skipped the meat of my post, you must watch this movie.
The offician site is in Chinese, but there are some pretty cool stills nonetheless: www.aworldwithoutthieves.com
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