Year: 2004
Runtime: 113 mins
Language: Chinese
Director: Feng Xiaogang
After stealing a city businessman’s BMW, a seasoned con‑team couple drives westward, planning their next score. Their plans are upended when they meet a gullible young carpenter journeying home with his life savings, forcing them to confront the consequences of their thievery and decide whether to keep stealing or protect the innocent.
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On a train bound inland from Tibet, Sha Gen, Wang Baoqiang, a naïve village boy who works as a construction worker in Tibet, is returning home to marry. He refuses to believe thieves exist and insists on carrying his five years of savings—worth ¥60,000—with him, loudly proclaiming his earnings in a crowded street. This bold display catches the eye of two seasoned thieves, Wang Bo, Andy Lau, and Wang Li, Rene Liu—who are lovers as well as professionals. Wang Bo aims to add one last big score to end their career, but Wang Li, who is pregnant with their child, is moved by Sha Gen’s innocence and decides to protect him.
A small gang led by Uncle Li, Ge You, boards the train. The crew includes Xiao Ye, Li Bingbing, and Four-Eyes, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung. Uncle Li instructs them to refrain from any job on the train. Tempted by the enormous cash, some members disobey and strike, only to be robbed by Wang Bo moments later, which exposes Wang Bo’s skill to Uncle Li. He becomes keen to recruit him, but when Wang declines, the contest between the Wangs and Uncle Li’s gang escalates, with Sha Gen still unaware of the danger surrounding him.
Meanwhile, a plainclothes police detective, Han, Zhang Hanyu, has been quietly watching and waiting for his chance. As the police close in, Uncle Li attempts to flee with Sha Gen’s money but is confronted by Wang Bo, who has finally promised to aid Wang Li in protecting Sha Gen’s innocence. The two engage in a violent hand-to-hand combat. Although Wang Bo succeeds in retrieving the money, he is seriously injured in the fray, and he dies. Uncle Li and his gang are apprehended as the train pulls into the 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.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 15:19
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High-stakes criminal dramas that unfold within the limits of a moving vehicle.If you liked the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere of A World Without Thieves, explore more movies like it. This list features high-stakes crime stories and moral dramas set on moving trains, buses, or planes, where the confined space intensifies every conflict.
Stories in this thread typically place a diverse cast of characters—often criminals, innocents, and law enforcement—into a confined, moving vehicle. The narrative is driven by the escalating tension within these tight quarters, leading to alliances, betrayals, and a climactic confrontation that is shaped by the inability to escape the situation.
These movies are grouped together because they share the unique combination of a fast-paced crime plot and a claustrophobic setting. The experience is defined by high tension, a sense of inescapable fate, and the moral dilemmas that arise when characters are forced together in close quarters.
Hardened criminals who choose to protect an innocent, at a great personal price.For viewers who appreciated the heavy emotional weight and bittersweet redemption arc in A World Without Thieves, this collection features similar movies. Discover stories about professional thieves and criminals who find their morals tested by an innocent person, leading to a tragic but meaningful sacrifice.
The narrative pattern involves a seasoned criminal, comfortable in their world, whose life is disrupted by the presence of a truly naive or virtuous individual. This encounter sparks a deep moral conflict, forcing the criminal to choose between their old life and protecting the innocent, a choice that typically leads to a bittersweet or tragic conclusion where redemption is achieved but at a significant cost.
These films are united by the powerful character arc of a criminal seeking redemption through the protection of innocence. They share a heavy emotional weight, a tone of moral conflict, and endings that are bittersweet, blending sacrifice with a glimmer of hope or penance.
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