The Bullet Vanishes

The Bullet Vanishes (also known as Ghost Bullets and Disappeared Bullets[4]) is a 2012 Hong Kong-Chinese mystery film.[5][6][7] It was written by Yeung Sin-leung and directed by Lo Chi-leung,[8] produced by Mandy Law and Derek Yee, and starring Nicholas Tse, Lau Ching-wan, Yang Mi, Boran Jing, Wu Gang and Liu Kai-chi.[9] The film pertains to a detective duo investigating a series of strange murders, in which the bullets used seemingly vanish (and hence the title), after the death of a factory girl accused as the perpetrator of the theft of a few bullets. Set in 1930s Tiancheng County, China,[10] filming took place in Shanghai.[11] Grossing US$25,280,000 in ticket sales domestically in China, The Bullet Vanishes is the eighth highest grossing Chinese film of 2012.[12]

The Bullet Vanishes
Theatrical release poster
Traditional	消失的子彈
Simplified	消失的子弹
Mandarin	Xiāo Shī Dè Zǐ Dàn
Cantonese	Siu^1 Sat^1 Di^1 Zi^2 Daan^6
Directed by	Lo Chi-leung
Produced by	Derek Yee Mandy Law Zhang Zhao Albert Lee Shan Dongbing Catherine Hun
Written by	Lo Chi-leung Yeung Sin-ling
Story by	Yeung Sin-ling
Starring	Nicholas Tse Lau Ching-wan Yang Mi Boran Jing Wu Gang Liu Kai-chi
Music by	Teddy Robin Tommy Wai
Cinematography	Chan Chi-ying
Edited by	Kong Chi-leung Ron Chan
Production company	Emperor Motion Pictures Film Unlimited LeVision Pictures
Distributed by	Emperor Motion Pictures
Release date	14 August 2012 (2012-08-14) (China) 13 September 2012 (2012-09-13) (Hong Kong)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	Hong Kong China
Language	Mandarin Cantonese
Budget	US$15.8 million[1]
Box office	US$25.0 million (Worldwide) [2][3]

Plot

Ding (Liu Kai-chi), the overbearing owner of a bullet factory in Tiancheng County, intimidates his workers to keep them in line, leading to a public Russian roulette "suicide" of a female employee (Xuxu) accused of stealing a box of bullets. A curse relating to a certain "Phantom Bullet" is found written in red on the walls of the factory, though the workers are soon ordered to scrub it off. Subsequent deaths from "phantom bullets" which are never found, seemingly vanishing, suggest that the factory has really been cursed. Song Donglu (Lau Ching-wan), a newly promoted detective with a slightly eccentric personality, is summoned by Tiancheng's police chief Jin (Wu Gang) to assist Guo Zhui (Nicholas Tse), "the fastest gunman in Tiancheng", and novice policeman Xiaowu (Boran Jing) in investigating the peculiar murders.

Cast

• Nicholas Tse as Captain Guo Zhui,[13] a gunman, detective and Song's partner.
• Lau Ching-wan as Inspector Song Donglu,[13] a prison superintendent, forensic investigator and expert in criminal psychology.[14]
• Yang Mi as Little Lark,[13] a fortuneteller.
• Liu Kai-chi as Boss Ding,[13] the owner of a bullet factory in Tiancheng County.
• Boran Jing as Xiaowu,[13] a novice policeman working with Song and Guo.
• Yumiko Cheng as Li Jia,[13] a coroner.
• Wang Ziyi as Wang Hai,[15] an employee at the bullet factory.
• Wu Gang (actor) as Jin,[15] the local police chief of Tiancheng County.
• Xuxu as Yan, the employee at the bullet factory who was forced to commit suicide by Boss Ding.[15]
• Liu Yang as Chen Qi,[15] a foreman of Boss Ding's.
• Jiang Yiyan as Fu Yuan,[15] a woman convicted of killing her husband.
• Chin Kar-lok as Fu Yuan's husband.[15]
• Gao Hu as a high-ranking police officer.
• Johnson Yuen
• Benz Kong
• Lu Kai

[16] [17]

Critical reception

As of 23 October 2012, on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film had received a 92% "fresh" rating from 12 reviews, with an average of 6.9/10.[18] On Metacritic, it had an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 4 reviews.[19]

The Bullet Vanishes generally received favourable reviews from contemporary film critics, with Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commenting that the thriller "boasts a fiendishly clever plot and gorgeous production elements".[11] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine praised the film for being "an effective tonic for summer-movie fatigue".[20] Simon Foster of SBS gave The Bullet Vanishes 3 stars, out of 5, praising its engagement.[21] straight.com's Ken Eisner said that it was a "strikingly beautiful detective thriller" and that it hit most of its marks.[22] Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times was one to give a negative review, concluding that it had "no story but lots of action" and was "visually stunning but emotionally empty", slamming the "over-abundance of visual pizazz".[23] Many critics felt that The Bullet Vanishes had been influenced by the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes directed by Guy Ritchie,[10][11] in particular the pairing of Song and Guo has been compared with that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.[9]

Box office

The Bullet Vanishes earned HK$8,016,951 at the Hong Kong box office.[24]

The Bullet Vanishes was officially released in North America on 31 August 2012. According to Box Office Mojo, The Bullet Vanishes domestically grossed US$43,444 in its opening weekend, and has grossed US$117,629 as of 27 September 2012.

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
49th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards[25]	November 24, 2012	Best Feature Film	The Bullet Vanishes	Nominated[26]
		Best Costume Design	Cheung Sai-kit	Won
9th Huading Awards	April 10, 2013	Best Actor	Nicholas Tse	Won
		Best Screenplay	Lo Chi-leung, Yeung Sin-ling	Won
32nd Hong Kong Film Awards	April 13, 2013	Best Film	The Bullet Vanishes	Nominated
		Best Director	Lo Chi-leung	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Lo Chi-leung, Yeung Sin-ling	Nominated
		Best Actor	Lau Ching-wan	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Liu Kai-chi	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Jiang Yiyan	Nominated
		Best Original Film Score	Teddy Robin, Tommy Wai	Nominated
		Best Sound Design	Phyllis Cheng	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Chan Chi-ying	Nominated
		Best Film Editing	Kong Chi-leung, Ron Chan	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Silver Cheung, Lee Kin-wai	Nominated
		Best Costume & Make Up Design	Silver Cheung	Nominated

See also

• Chinese films of 2012

References

1. Chen Nan (July 5, 2012). "First Concept Poster of "The Bullet Vanishes" Released". Chinese Films. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
2. "Bullet Vanishes (2012) International Sales, excluding China". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
3. "Bullet Vanishes (2012) Sales, China". ENT group. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
4. Liu Shuai (March 9, 2012). ""Disappeared Bullets" in Post-production Stages". Chinese Films. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
5. French Clements (August 29, 2012). "The Bullet Vanishes". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
6. Buchanan, Jason. "The Bullet Vanishes". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation.
7. Elley, Derek (December 20, 2012). "The Bullet Vanshes". Film Business Asia. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
8. "消失的子弹The Bullet Vanishes (2012)". mtime. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
9. Gabriel Chong. "THE BULLET VANISHES (消失的子弹 Xiao shi de zi dan) (2012)". Movieexclusive.com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
10. Daniel Eagan (August 29, 2012). "Film Review: The Bullet Vanishes". Film Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
11. Frank Scheck (August 30, 2012). "The Bullet Vanishes: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
12. "Weekly box office". Retrieved October 19, 2012.
13. Jay Seaver (August 2, 2012). "Bullet Vanishes, The". efilmcritic.com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
14. "No Bullet, but Plenty of Questions". New York Times. August 30, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
15. Maggie Lee (August 30, 2012). "The Bullet Vanishes". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
16. The Bullet Vanishes at HKMDB
17. The Bullet Vanishes at chinesemov.com
18. The Bullet Vanishes (2012) Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
19. The Bullet Vanishes Metacritic. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
20. Chuck Bowen (August 29, 2012). "The Bullet Vanishes Film Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
21. Simon Foster. "Mystical mystery draws on familiar influences: The Bullet Vanishes review". SBS.com.au. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
22. Ken Eisner (August 30, 2012). "The Bullet Vanishes hits most of its marks". straight.com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
23. Abele, Robert (August 30, 2012). "Review: No story but lots of action in 'The Bullet Vanishes'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
24. "The Bullet Vanishes Hong Kong Box Office". HK Neo Reviews. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
25. "China's 'Mystery' vies for Golden Horse film award". New York Daily News. November 23, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
26. "Golden Horse Film Awards: Chinese films do well". BBC News. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.

External links

• The Bullet Vanishes on IMDb
• The Bullet Vanishes at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Bullet Vanishes at Metacritic
• The Bullet Vanishes at Box Office Mojo