Sheep Without a Shepherd

Internet technician Li Weijie, his wife Ayu, and their two daughters Ping Ping and An An are a middle-class family living in northern Thailand. Ping Ping is sexually assaulted at a summer camp by Su Cha, who is the son of mayor Du Peng and his wife, police chief La Wen. Using this information, Su Cha blackmails Ping Ping in order to extort further sexual favours from her.

Su Cha arranges to meet with Ping Ping on her family's property, but is confronted by Ayu, who seeks to defend her daughter. After Su Cha assaults Ayu, he is accidentally killed by Ping Ping. Ayu and Ping Ping hastily bury Su Cha's body in the grave of Weijie's uncle, which is located in a local cemetery, but not before they are spotted by An An.

Weijie is informed of the murder and seeks to defend his family from police action. He disposes of key evidence, including Su Cha's car and mobile phone. He establishes an alibi for his family through an impromptu weekend holiday to the nearby area of Hua Lamphong, seeking to improve the credibility of the alibi by talking to, and reminding witnesses of his and his family's presence in key areas, as well as through collecting physical evidence such as bus tickets and invoices. Weijie also trains his family on their conduct during police interrogations.

Weijie and his family eventually come under investigation after local police officer Sang Kun, who harbors animosity towards Weijie, spots him driving Su Cha's car when it was earlier being disposed of. Sang Kun's testimony is initially met with disbelief due to his reputation for misbehaviour, but he raises La Wen's suspicion towards Weijie, which is further reinforced after Weijie reacts negatively when news of the car's discovery in a lake is mentioned. Despite intensive interrogations involving Weijie, his family, and relevant witnesses, La Wen is unable to successfully defeat Weijie's alibi.

A breakthrough in the investigation appears after Sang Kun reveals that Weijie is a crime film enthusiast. By directing police to search Wiejie's shop, La Wen is able to produce a list of films that Weijie has recently watched. Through this, she comes to the revelation that Weijie had been carefully constructing a falsified series of events through manipulating key witnesses, including restaurant owner Song En, and altering digital evidence, using his position as an internet technician to his advantage.

Convinced of Weije's guilt, but lacking the means to prove so, a frustrated La Wen resorts to extreme measures, torturing his family in order to extract a confession from An An, who, as the youngest child, is most vulnerable to coercion. In order to further establish Weijie's guilt, La Wen directs the police to publicly exhume Su Cha's body from the local cemetery. However, this action backfires when the grave is revealed to contain the corpse of a goat that had been killed by Sang Kun earlier in the film during a confrontation with Weijie. This provokes a massive riot among the local population, who are convinced of the innocence of Weijie and his family.

This event proves to be the downfall of La Wen, who is indefinitely suspended from her position over allegations of police corruption, and Du Peng, who resigns from his position as mayor in disgrace. Weijie and his family are publicly exonerated. However, Weijie, suffering guilt from his actions, confesses to his role in the killing to La Wen and Du Peng, and is sentenced to prison. It is heavily implied that Su Cha's body was earlier moved from the grave to a construction site that Weijie had been working on.

• Xiao Yang as Li Weijie
• Tan Zhuo as Ayu
• Joan Chen as La Wen
• Philip Keung Ho-Man as Du Peng
• Paul Chun as Song En
• Shih Ming-shuai as Sang Kun
• Audrey Hui as Ping Ping
• Zhang Xiran as An An
• Bian Tian Yang as Su Cha

In September 2017, it was announced that an undisclosed Chinese production company had acquired the rights to remake the Indian Malayalam-language film Drishyam (2013).{{cite web |title=Mohanlal's 'Drishyam' to be remade in Chinese |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mohanlals-drishyam-be-remade-chinese-68414 |website=The News Minute |accessdate=26 December 2019 |date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214090511/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mohanlals-drishyam-be-remade-chinese-68414 |url-status=live }} Malaysian Chinese filmmaker Sam Quah was the director and Chen Sicheng served as the producer of the film.

Sheep Without a Shepherd was released in China on 13 December 2019. It was also released in IMAX format.{{cite web |title=SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD TO BE RELEASED IN IMAX® THEATRES ACROSS CHINA STARTING DECEMBER 13 |url=http://www.imax.cn/press-details/id-272-l-en |publisher=Imax.cn |accessdate=26 December 2019 |archive-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203053713/http://www.imax.cn/press-details/id-272-l-en |url-status=live }}

Sheep Without a Shepherd took the top spot at Chinese box offices, becoming the highest-grossing film in its opening weekend.{{cite web|first=Patrick|last=Frater|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/china-box-office-shepherd-skyfire-local-film-dominance-1203439365/|title=China Box Office: 'Sheep Without a Shepherd,' 'Skyfire' Lead Local Film Dominance|publisher=Variety|date=16 December 2019|accessdate=25 December 2019|archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217170401/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/china-box-office-shepherd-skyfire-local-film-dominance-1203439365/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Hui|first=Lu|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/14/c_138630755.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218085940/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/14/c_138630755.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 18, 2019|title="Sheep Without A Shepherd" leads Chinese mainland box office|work=Xinhua News Agency|date=14 December 2019|accessdate=25 December 2019}} In that weekend, 13 – 15 December, it grossed $32,152,680 in China, besting Skyfire.{{cite web|title=Chinese 2019 Weekend 50|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2019W50/?area=CN|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=26 December 2019|archive-date=5 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005224545/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2019W50/?area=CN|url-status=live}} The film continued to lead in Chinese box offices through to its second week, until 20 December.{{cite news|last=ZD|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/20/c_138645723.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220081500/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/20/c_138645723.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 20, 2019|title="Sheep Without a Shepherd" still leads Chinese mainland box office|work=Xinhua News Agency|date=20 December 2019|accessdate=25 December 2019}} In its second weekend in China, the film earned $23,204,410, beating Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker which debuted that weekend and ranked second behind Ip Man 4: The Finale. The film's cumulative gross in China stood at $76,813,388 until 22 December.{{cite web|title=Chinese 2019 Weekend 51|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2019W51/?area=CN|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=26 December 2019|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013757/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2019W51/?area=CN|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Frater|first=Patrick|title=China Box Office: 'Rise of Skywalker' Beaten by Martial Arts Finale 'Ip Man 4'|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-flops-in-china-ip-man-4-1203450552/|publisher=Variety|accessdate=26 December 2019|date=22 December 2019|archive-date=23 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223174917/https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-flops-in-china-ip-man-4-1203450552/|url-status=live}} In the same weekend, in terms of worldwide box office ranking, it came fifth behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Jumanji: The Next Level, Ip Man 4: The Finale, and Frozen 2, with $77,439,509.{{cite web|title=Worldwide Box Office (Estimates) Weekend Ending December 22|url=https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings?country=US#tab_worldwide_box_office/|publisher=Comscore|accessdate=28 December 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507231355/http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings?country=US#tab_worldwide_box_office/|archivedate=7 May 2016|url-status=dead}} In three weeks, the film grossed $111,225,633{{cite web|title=Worldwide Box Office (Estimates) Weekend Ending December 29|url=https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings?country=US#tab_worldwide_box_office/|publisher=Comscore|accessdate=31 December 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507231355/http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings?country=US#tab_worldwide_box_office/|archivedate=7 May 2016|url-status=dead}} and $135,589,251 in four weeks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2020W01/?area=CN&ref_=bo_rl_table_4|title=Chinese 2020 Weekend 1|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=2020-01-06|archive-date=2022-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112090700/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2020W01/?area=CN&ref_=bo_rl_table_4|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Davis|first=Rebecca|title=China Box Office: Pet Drama 'Adoring' Runs Away With Weekend Prize|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/china-box-office-adoring-ip-man-4-angel-has-fallen-1203457867/|publisher=Variety|accessdate=11 January 2020|date=6 January 2020|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111032101/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/china-box-office-adoring-ip-man-4-angel-has-fallen-1203457867/|url-status=live}} By 13 January 2020, the film earned $154.24 million from box office sales in China alone.{{cite web|title=Daily Box Office - China (1/13/2020)|url=http://english.entgroup.cn/boxoffice/cn/daily/|publisher=English.entgroup.cn|accessdate=11 January 2020|date=11 January 2020|archive-date=27 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227085021/http://english.entgroup.cn/boxoffice/cn/daily/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Xuequan|first=Mu|title="Sheep Without a Shepherd" China box office sales hit 1 bln yuan|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/10/c_138694859.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110203412/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/10/c_138694859.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2020|accessdate=11 January 2020|work=Xinhua News Agency|date=10 January 2020}} As of 12 February, it has grossed $176 million from China. It became the 9th highest-grossing film in China in 2019. The film grossed more than $192 million internationally.{{cite web |title=Sheep Without a Shepherd |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11210032/?ref_=bo_gr_ti |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=27 December 2020 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112090658/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11210032/?ref_=bo_gr_ti |url-status=live }}

The film holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} on Rotten Tomatoes based on {{RT data|count}} reviews with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sheep_without_a_shepherd|title=Sheep Without a Shepherd|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}|archive-date=2021-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006170650/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sheep_without_a_shepherd|url-status=live}} It received a 73 out of 100 score on Metacritic based on five reviews.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sheep-without-a-shepherd|title=Sheep Without a Shepherd|access-date=2021-10-06|archive-date=2021-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006040253/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sheep-without-a-shepherd|url-status=live}}

It was nominated at the 6th Douban Film Annual Awards for the category of Top Rated Chinese Movie.{{cite web|title=误杀 (豆瓣)|url=https://movie.douban.com/subject/30176393/|publisher=Douban|accessdate=27 December 2019|archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217125917/https://movie.douban.com/subject/30176393/|url-status=live}}

In June 2021, it was announced that Sheep Without a Shepherd would be getting a sequel. The film was shot on October and November 2021, and will be released on 24 December 2021. The movie sees the return of Xiao Yang as the lead character.{{cite web|title=《误杀2》定档12.24 "绝望父亲"肖央为爱犯险|url=https://www.1905.com/news/20211116/1550629.shtml#p1|publisher=1905.com|accessdate=16 November 2021|archive-date=17 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117044613/https://www.1905.com/news/20211116/1550629.shtml#p1|url-status=live}} The film, titled Fireflies in the Sun, was a spiritual sequel and a remake of the 2002 American film John Q.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=11210032}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNnvX9X_0hw Sheep Without a Shepherd (Review – English)] on YouTube

{{Drishyam}}

{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Foreign Film}}

Category:2019 films

Category:2019 crime thriller films

Category:Chinese remakes of foreign films

Category:Chinese crime thriller films

Category:2010s Mandarin-language films