World Without Thieves (DVD)

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At the 77th Annual Academy Awards, host Chris Rock made a joke about Jude Law being in so many recent movies (6 in 2004). His remark was quickly rebutted by professional killjoy Sean Penn. However, ask anybody in the Hong Kong film industry and they´d wonder what the big deal is. It´s not uncommon for an actor or director to pump out a dozen or more films in a single calendar year. One of the most prolific stars in Hong Kong and China is Andy Lau, who is likely most familiar as the star of "Infernal Affairs", which was remade by Martin Scorsese as "The Departed." Lau is also one of the top stars of Cantonese pop and has won hundreds of awards for his music. He has been dubbed a member of the "Four Heavenly Kings" along with fellow actors/Cantopop artists Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai. Lau has worked numerous times with writer/director Johnny To, but with "A World Without Thieves" he pairs up with mainland China filmmaker Feng Xiaogang. Feng´s other films include the satire "Big Show´s Funeral" (starring Donald Sutherland) and the wuxia epic "The Banquet", which was re-titled "Legend of the Black Scorpion" for the DVD release by Dragon Dynasty.

Sporting a rather silly looking mop top, Lau co-stars with Rene Liu as Wang Bo and Wang Li, a husband and wife team of thieves. They´re like a laidback version of Bonnie and Clyde preferring subtle con games and sleight of hand to tommy guns. The film begins with the Wangs in their latest spoils of war, a brand-new BMW. Suddenly, Wang Li drops a bombshell on her husband. She wants out of the business. She´s retiring from thievery whether Bo wants to come or not. Angered, Wang Bo drops her off in the middle of nowhere and drives away. Wang Li manages to hitch a ride on the bicycle of Sha Gen (Wang Baoqiang), nicknamed Dumbo. Sha Gen is a wide-eyed, innocent youth who has been working construction at a nearby Buddhist monastery to earn money to bring back to his village. He´s saved up 60,000RMB and his co-workers urge him to wire the money back home, but Sha Gen balks at paying a transfer fee and ignores their warnings about thieves.

Arriving at the train station, Sha Gen practically paints a bullseye on his face by flaunting his cash and daring any crooks to come and get it. Wang Bo is like a shark that smells blood in the water when it comes to Sha Gen. He´s alternately amused and exasperated at Sha Gen´s simplistic, Pollyanna views on life. He actually thinks that stealing the boy´s money will teach him a valuable lesson about the real world. But, Wang Li has adopted him as a little brother and seeks to protect him. He´ll need that protection as Wang Bo isn´t the only one after his money. Also on board the train, are a gang of bandits led by master of disguise Uncle Li (Ge You). Uncle Li´s group consists of his number two, Number Two (You Yong), newcomer Four Eyes (Lam Ka Tung), and femme fatale Xiao Ye (Li Bingbing). Uncle Li plays a game of cat and mouse with Wang Bo. Both thieves try their best to lift the money right from under anybody´s nose. At the same time, Uncle Li recognizes great skill when he sees it and attempts to get Wang Bo to join his little troupe.