Breaking and Re-entering

Breaking and Re-entering is a 2024 Taiwanese comedy-action film directed by Wang Ding-lin, starring Chen Bolin, Cecilia Choi, and Wu Kang-ren. The film was released in Taiwan on February 8, 2024.^[1][2][3]

Breaking and Re-entering
Directed by	Wang Ding-lin
Written by	Wang Hui-chu Wang Ding-lin Wen Yu-fang
Produced by	Yeh Ju-feng
Starring	Chen Bo-lin Cecilia Choi
Cinematography	Garvin Chan
Edited by	Kipo Lin
Music by	Chris Hou
Production company	Mandarin Vision
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	8 February 2024 (2024-02-08)
Country	Taiwan
Languages	Southern Min Mandarin

Plot

The film follows the story of Chang Po-chun, a charismatic leader of a group of bank robbers, who sets out to steal a large sum of money from a prominent financial institution run by Chen Hai-jui. However, things take an unexpected turn when he discovers that his former girlfriend, Shen Shu-wen, works at the same bank.^[4] This unexpected twist leads Po-chun to concoct a plan to return the stolen funds through an unconventional method, adding a comedic spin to the traditional heist film.^[5]

Cast

• Chen Bolin as Chang Po-chun
• Cecilia Choi as Shen Shu-wen
• Kent Tsai as Kao
• Frederick Lee as Uncle Bin
• Wu Kang-ren as Chen Hai-jui

Release

Breaking and Re-entering was released in Taiwan on February 8, 2024. It had its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival on July 22, 2024, and was later picked up for distribution by Netflix.^[5]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10.^[6]

Writing for the South China Morning Post, James Marsh gave the film three and a half out of five stars, saying, "The bank heist has been a tried and tested movie trope for as long as the medium has been around, and Wang plunders many of the genre’s finest examples to colour his polished, playful thriller. ... [It's] a consistently entertaining romp, rich in broad laughs and sentimental romance, that never threatens to outstay its welcome."^[1]

Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects wrote, "Wang keeps things moving at a real clip — another reason the film stays so light as there’s little time for anything deeper or heavier — and, as with the Soderbergh heist films that inspired him, he loads the back end with rewinds, flashbacks, spring forwards, and more. ... It wouldn’t work in a serious thriller, but the visual gags and narrative nonsense help deliver a goofily entertaining (reverse) heist flick."^[7]