The Pickpocket

Xiao Wu (Wang Hongwei) is an incorrigible pickpocket in Fenyang, Shanxi. Even during a police crackdown, he keeps looking for chances to steal. Yet beyond the label of thief, he is deeply attached to the past and to traditional ties; family and friendship still carry real weight for him. His old relatives and friends, however, now treat him like a bad omen and keep their distance. Pushed to the margins, Xiao Wu can only search for small forms of comfort. One day, while singing in a karaoke bar, he meets the hostess Hu Meimei (Zuo Baitao). Their similar loneliness draws them into an ambiguous bond. But Hu Meimei knows Xiao Wu cannot be her way out; she needs someone more powerful to change her fate. Xiao Wu understands this too, yet when it happens he cannot suppress his sense of loss. Facing the future, he becomes ever more awkward, trapped, and adrift.