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Zhao Liying always delivers solid performances in tough stories ; the resilience of the character she plays also comes from experience in life and acting although the character she played in "The Story of Xing Fu" was not as poor and desperate as Gao Yuexiang who sometimes reminds of the slave girl of "Princess Agents" in her dire straits. GYX is a light grey character with a low moral compass but a strong sense of faithfulness to those she protects, thinking of her daughter, such as deaf and mute Hei Mei (played memorably by Lan Xiya, already noticed as prominent in "She and Her Girls", the biopic series about the mountain high school for girls - she is still playing support with as much brilliance as if she was lead).

The two struggle against the hurdles that keep the poor on the threshold of desperation, saddled with that backstory of going through prison for minor or more serious crimes while the gang that forced Hei Mei to break the law went scot free ...until the bloody retribution in the literally dying out gang in the end. Former ways of thieving are on the way of disappearing in a cashless society where Internet fraud replaces lock picking, and animal trafficking is on the rise while kids abducting is still a menace. Going to prison being also to make inmates reflect and reform, there is a clear goal, but former inmates insertion into society, as in most countries, is not easy, even with the sum allowed to start anew, and they are expected to fend for themselves or find support in their families if they have one, even a bad one.

Deng Hong is not a typical prison warden, but does have some sympathy for the downtrodden women who become sisters in need, and is impressed by the more moral Hei Mei who instead of ripping off old relatives of their former prison cell enemy, goes to lengths to help them. Deng Hong has a back story that explains her sympathy : she was a baby saved from drowning by an escaped inmate and was raised by a police officer, as she tells her story in passing, not insisting. She genuinely wants her former inmates and charges to insert back and start afresh, away from law breaking.

There are a lot of ups and downs in the movie that depicts another side of city under world. But finally there is a happy end, where blood stains are aptly washed clean, while the former law breakers slate is wiped clean.

So, this is perhaps a tad over optimistic, not as realistic as a "Xiao Wu" pickpocket story told by Jia Zhangke in his famous independent movie, but this one also reminds of that underworld of ordinary people whose lives also contribute to building a country, shown over the years in movies such as "Platform", "Suzhou River" etc. and referring directly to the spirit of the famous Feng Xiaogang crime comedy "A World Without Thieves".

It is an interesting watch, indeed not depressing or boring, even thrilling, although there is not much humor in this one. I balanced between an 8 and 9.5 for rating, since the story is perhaps too simple and unremarkable, but the main actresses made it come to life.