Xun qiang (2002)
8/10
Refreshing Shock of Cultures
19 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
In a province in China, Detective Ma Shan (Wen Jiang) wakes up on the day after the wedding party of his sister Ma Juan (Huang Fan) and finds that his gun with three bullets is missing. Ma Shan drank too much in the party and does not recall what might have happen with his weapon. He falls in disgrace with his superiors and investigates who might have stolen the gun. When his former sweetheart Li Xiaomeng (Jing Ning) is found dead with a shot of his weapon, he becomes the prime suspect. When the police force arrests his acquaintance Zhou Xiaogang (Shi Liang), he discloses that Li Xiaomeng was accidentally killed since his friend was the real target of the murderer. Ma Shan uses Zhou Xiaogang as a bait to lure and arrest the criminal an retrieve his missing gun.

"The Missing Gun" was one of the greatest and best surprises among the movies I have recently watched. China Video usually produces low budget, violent and full of action movies with messed screenplays, but "The Missing Gun" is actually a refreshing story that exposes a shock of cultures. In most of Western movies, it is very easy to get a gun (banal in North American movies), but in Communist China, guns are prohibited for the population and therefore they are a symbol of power, respect and honor to the policeman. Even the number of bullets are limited in accordance with this film. Based on this explanation, we can understand the saga of Ma Shan to find his missing gun. This movie has great interpretations, wonderful locations and a beautiful cinematography. The bicycles chase is surrealistic and unusual and one of the most attractive scenes along this great film. The ambiguous conclusion, with the death of Ma Shan, ends this highly recommended movie with golden key. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Arma Perdida" ("The Lost Weapon")
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