Sheep Without A Shepherd (China 2019) - Movie Review

Continuing on the trend in the resurgence of great movies from Chinese production houses in 2019, this takes the story of the original highly acclaimed Indian thriller Drishyam and respects its heritage, while adding a uniquely Chinese flavour.

With the movie set in Thailand, this allows the filmmakers more opportunities to explore cross cultural themes as well as elements of integration.

But its strong story line, interesting characters and thrilling storyline are the real winning mix here.

So what’s the result?

What's this Movie About?

Li lives with his family in a strong Chinese community focused village in Thailand. He runs a business providing internet to individuals and other businesses while spending his days watching a never ending collection of movies from around the world.

His oldest daughter, Ping Ping, goes away to a school camp where she meets the son of the local Police Chief and district Politician running for election. She is drugged and sexually assaulted, with the crime filmed on his mobile phone.

Ping Ping begs him to delete the video, but he uses it to persuade her into another sexual tryst. Devastated, she tells her mother A Yu, and the set a trap for him. However things go wrong and they accidentally end up killing him. Li rushes home from a business trip where he finds his wife, daughter and dead body.

He then devises a plan – a desperate yet foolproof idea to create watertight alibis and memorable incidents for witnesses that places his family far away from the scene of the crime.

The movie then explores how he and his family manage to get away from committed the almost perfect crime.

Is it Worth Watching?

Absolutely. Having not seen the original makes comparisons difficult, but this movie comes in at almost 50 minutes shorter.

The performance of Yang Xiao as the father is the highlight of the film. His cool demeanor and devotion to his family can never be questioned, and his innocent naivety is all but a ruse for his mastermind plan.

Rounding up the performances are cinema royalty Joan Chen as the Police Chief and well known Hong Kong actor Phillip Keung as her husband and district politician.

It is a fabulous cat and mouse tale of a father who will do anything to protest his daughter, and a mother who will stop at nothing to get justice for her son, and it’s a thrilling ride that only the most jaded of cinema lovers won’t enjoy.

Check out the video above to see where Sheep Without A Shepherd scored in the Highest Grossing Chinese Movies of 2019

What are Some of the Memorable Moments?

Li’s plan to defend his family is the standout in this movie – having devised it from watching a series of thriller and mystery movies where he is able to identify the usual traps that movie characters fall into where their plans fail. It’s quite meta that essentially we have a movie referencing other movies, to the point where the movie even lists which movies its getting its inspiration from. Strangely, it’s the Korean film Montage where Li takes most of the ideas to build his plan.

The cat and mouse game between Li and Joan Chen’s character La Wen is well presented, highlighting the extreme brutality afforded to the Thailand police department and how their treatment of Li and his family ultimately turns the village into a mob baying for their blood.

And just when you think you’ve discovered a plot hole the writers and director have overlooked, the movies goes to great lengths to intricately detail each plot line to the audience. If you’re confused, it means you’re not paying enough attention. This is brilliant work from first time Malaysian director Sam Quah.

What's Not So Hot?

There’s not a lot here that can be considered a negative, however not being able to view the Indian original before creating this review may highlight some difference between the two pieces of work, but I doubt there would enough there to way my opinion of this film.

While not a negative, some of the violence and treatment towards women and children in this movie may cause some discomfort with the audience – but the good thing about cinema is its ability to craft scenes like this that can elicit a true emotional reaction from the audience.

If I am being picky thought, its perhaps that Li’s plan is too thorough, considering the limited time he would have had to come up with the idea and execute it.

Overall Impressions

This is a terrific film, and piece of work that should convince you that the Chinese certainly have the ability to craft an excellent thriller, even if they’ve heavily borrowed the story and idea from somewhere else.

The acting is solid, the movie makes sense and the ending is a real gut-wrencher.

Watch this with an open mind, and you’ll be pleasantly rewarded.