Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

wassamz The story is about two thieves and the twists and turns they face while they rediscover themselves through the decisions they make.The movie itself, well... the directing was terrible. The cinematography was good but overdone. Why does there have to be so many slow-mo scenes that add no value to the movie? The director should have been more sparse with these effects. The music selection was strange at times, from a French song, to a Spanish song. As for the characters, I liked everyone except Dumbo. Couldn't they have found a better example of innocence then a hard working village idiot that talks to wolves? The movie deserves a 6.0 and no more.

sarastro7 I just saw A World Without Thieves at a film festival, and I loved it. I had expected a more straight-forward Hong Kong production, but this was more of a mainland China movie. We follow a male-female couple of thieves, Bo and Li (both surnamed Wang, but apparently not married), the woman of whom is trying to abandon her criminal lifestyle for the sake of her unborn child's karma. So she decides to protect a naive country bumpkin who's transporting his life's savings by train, surrounded by people who want to rob him. As you can imagine, a plot with this kind of stark, sacrificial emotion involved must be difficult to turn into a successful piece of film-making. But this director pulls it off.The movie is grand and beautiful. The emotional intensity and depth conveyed by the actors repeatedly brought a tear to my eye. The characters themselves cry several times, and their pain is convincing. The really impressive thing is that the movie really blends several genres. It has a plot and characters which are usually played for laughs in light-hearted action comedies, yet here they are treated seriously. The action scenes are low-key in order not to detract from the more important emotional matter. And adding in the magnificent cinematography, the end product becomes an art movie.For the cinematography of this movie is simply breathtaking. Landscapes and people are filmed with inspired visual flair. There are a few kung fu scenes in the movie (the most impressive of which is the peeling of a *raw* egg, without breaking the membrane), but they are done very untraditionally. The skirmishes are never really shown, except in brief, half-blurred flashes, mimicking pick-pocketing skills, where you practically can't see the moves. However, these scenes are accompanied by special music, and most certainly have an aesthetic all their own, contributing to making this movie unique. The director is trying to do something new and different with the kung fu scenes, and I think he succeeds. The focus of the movie is not on the fight scenes, but on the characters' emotions and the dazzling cinematography.The end of the movie is also stunning. In order to honor his lover's wish, the male thief, who has no desire to reform, ends up getting himself killed in order to return the country bumpkin's money to him from a rival master thief. Now, you can focus on the return of the money, and find the moral of the movie naively romantic. Or you can focus on the heart-rending death of Bo, and be moved to tears by his sacrifice, which was for love of his partner, and not for the naive country bumpkin. I did the latter, and I believe the director was going for this reaction. This was not a naive movie about protecting an innocent soul from the unavoidable evils of the world; it was a character study focusing on two thieves who ended up disappearing from the world, one through reform, and one through self-sacrifice. It touched me deeply.All told, a masterpiece that I can heartily recommend, and which I will certainly acquire for myself when I get the chance.Ratingswise, I initially wondered if I should give it an 8 or a 9. But upon reflection of how perfectly put together this movie was, and what a great artistic accomplishment it is, and how the consideration of its themes and their resolutions continue to move me when I think back on the climactic scenes, I have to give it top marks. 10 out of 10.

monkey_magic_23 Visually stunning, emotionally charged, and intellectually moving! The cinematography of "World Without Thieves" is unmatched to any Chinese movie I've seen to date. The characters hold your interest, and the plot moves across the screen with brilliant unpredictability. Western fans who only know Andy Lau from "House of Flying Daggers" get to witness his versatility as an actor. The two female leads, Renee Liu and Bingbing Li, balance each other out wonderfully: one dangerous, the other caring. I love "non-Hollywood" endings, which is what we get here. This is a rare gem of a film that breaks out of the "Chinese Film" genre and into the "International Film" genre. A good introduction for the movie fan who has never seen a Chinese film. A must-see for any serious film fanatic.

Harry T. Yung Witness how Andy Lau comes across in two movies under two different directors. In the Zhang Yimou's cheesy impersonation of an art film House of Flying Daggers, poor Lau is reduced to almost laughing stock in a hopelessly crafted and lifeless character. In Feng Xiaogang's A World Without Thieves, Lau is given a proper opportunity to act, and he responds with a creditable performance.Not as well-known to the world at large as Zhang who has achieved fame through shameless succumbing to cheap melodrama, Feng is nevertheless the biggest name in China. Make no mistake about it, Feng's films ARE commercial. But, on top of the commercial elements, Feng retains his unique blend of style, humor and heart. On the other hand, while Zhang still rules when it comes to cinematography, a film does not live by cinematography alone.And Feng does not suffer by that much even in that department. The opening shots of AWWT are simply breathtaking. The ensuring scene is equally impressive, with Wang Li (Rene Lau) praying in the open temple courtyard among the throng while partner Wang Bo (Andy Lau) engages in a duel of sorts with femme fatale (Li Bingbing). The rhythmic, rousing sound from the throng, the sincere penitence of prostrating Wang Li and the intimidating dexterity of the two dueling thieves blend together in a unique atmosphere created by Feng's ever attentive camera, bringing the audience right into the heart of the movie.The plot is simple and essentially predictable, set in a familiar, slightly claustrophobic train journey, pitching thieves against thieves and against law enforcers, over certain potential loot. This however does not prevent the movie from offering the audience a bit of everything: jaw-dropping feats, suspense and tension, interesting characters, a love story, struggle between good and evil. What I like about it is that it is unpretentious. Wang Li's (and later Wang Bo's) penitence simply as result of her pregnancy comes across much better than pseudo philosophizing, for example, as in Running on Karma (which incidentally also stars Andy Lau).The movie features an ultimate good guy character Fu Gen (Wang Boaqing) who, almost like an idiot, doggedly believe that there's no bad guy in this world (and hence the title). Wang plays it so well that even the most cynicism-stricken audience will find it difficult not to love him. Andy Lau, as mentioned, has given a solid performance, even when the character is somewhat stereotyped. Rene Lau, easily one of the best Chinese actresses around today, handles her part with ease. Watch for the last scene when she gulps down mouthfuls of food while a tear trickles down her cheek. And there is of course Ge You, sort of China's Lon Chaney, who appears in every one of Feng's films and never fails to give a delightful surprise every time.In sum, an unpretentious, entertaining, commercial but high quality film.