A vibrant departure from the grim tone of his traditional “heroic bloodshed” thrillers, John Woo’s Once a Thief is a high-octane, lighthearted action-comedy that plays like a stylish love letter to European heist films.
The movie stars Chow Yun-fat (A Better Tomorrow), Leslie Cheung (Happy Together), and Cherie Chung (Peking Opera Blues) as three orphans taken in by a harsh crime lord and a kindly police detective, who grow up to become a world-class team of high-society art thieves.
Moving between the scenic vistas of Paris and the bustling streets of Hong Kong, the trio pulls off daring, acrobatic museum heists. However, their tight-knit bond is complicated by a brewing romantic triangle and the escalating, dangerous demands of their ruthless adoptive father.
Filled with witty banter, lavish ballroom dance sequences, and Woo’s signature hyper-stylised shootout choreography, the film showcases a more playful, glamorous side of classic Hong Kong cinema.