SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD II AKA FIREFLIES IN THE SUN: Fighting a Rotten System to Save Your Son

Chinese remake of 2002 American thriller drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starred by Denzel Washington, “John Q”, but also sequel of 2019 Chinese drama film, “Sheep Without a Shepherd“, that was also a remake of 2013 Indian film starred by Mohanlan and directed by Jeethu Joseph.

The film revolves around Lin Rilang, a desperate father whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart, that needs to be fixed with an expensive operation. Unable to collect the big sum of money, Lin Rilang hijacks the medical centre at gunpoint, in order to save his son´s life.

An intense crime thriller film, that unfolds on its surface a story about the corruption of a rotten system in a society of obedient sheeps, where one man sometimes needs to raise the voice and make the difference in seek of justice. But also, a moving drama about the power of love, on this occasion parental love, which is probably the strongest and more honest and pure love of all.

Set in Thailand, the film had big issues due COVID 19, so the crew opted to film it in a stage scenery in Guandong that fakes to be Thailand, but anyway, that doesn´t weighs down the quality of the final product, that despite its lack of personality of being a remake of an american film, finds its own personality, succesfuly having the courage of defying censorship, covering some uncomfortable topics in China such as crime and corruption related to organ transplant.

The director, Mo dai, imprints good doses of emotion and suspense to this dramatic canvas that drags the audience into a story, in which the director brings out the best of his actors, having Yang Xiao as protagonist, who builds a character with acting chops that resembles more to Forest Whitaker than Denzel Washington, being supported by a great cast that includes HK veteran film legend, Simon Yam or Aarif Rhaman…

The film was realeased on 17 December 2021, earning a total of 300 million yuan in its first three days of release