The Detective (2007 film)

The Detective
The Detective
	Promotional poster
Traditional Chinese	C+偵探
Simplified Chinese	C+侦探
Hanyu Pinyin	C Jiā Zhēn Tàn
Jyutping	C gaa1 zing1 taam3
Directed by	Oxide Pang
Written by	Oxide Pang; Thomas Pang
Produced by	The Pang Brothers
Starring	Aaron Kwok ; Liu Kai-chi ; Wayne Lai ; Shing Fui-On
Cinematography	Decha Srimantra
Edited by	Curran Pang
Music by	Jadet Chawang; Payont Permsith
Production; companies	Universe Entertainment; Sil-Metropole Organisation ; Magic Head Film Production Co. Ltd.
Distributed by	Universe Films Distribution Company
Release date	25 September 2007;
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Languages	Cantonese ; Thai
Box office	US$2,151,820

Last updated January 16, 2026

The Detective is a 2007 Hong Kong neo-noir mystery thriller film directed by Oxide Pang, and starring Aaron Kwok as a private investigator hired to track down a missing young woman who may be linked to a series of murders in Thailand. The film was followed by a sequel, The Detective 2 , which was released in 2011.

Plot

Tam (Aaron Kwok) is an impoverished private detective. One day, a guy nicknamed Fatty asks Tam to find a lady who wants to kill him. He leaves Tam a portrait and a large amount of cash without giving any other details. Tam cannot resist the offer and so his investigation starts.

Knowing that Sum, the lady in the picture, is a frequent visitor of a store where the picture was shot, Tam tries to get hints of her whereabouts from the storekeepers. He is told to find her through her mahjong playmates. Tam starts with Ming, but when he arrives at Ming's home, he finds Ming hanged in the living room.

As Tam continues to search for other mahjong playmates of Sum, he is shocked to find each of them murdered every time he is about to contact with them. He discovers a half-burned photo at one of the scenes. Tam realizes the suspicions behind the deaths and decides to protect the next target of the invisible murderer. The photo is the only clue for Tam to solve the case.

Cast

Aaron Kwok as Tam
Liu Kai-chi as Inspector Fung Chak
Wayne Lai as Sai Wing
Kenny Wong as Kwong Chi-hung
Shing Fui-On as Fei Lung
Jo Koo as Yin

Reception

Awards and nominations
Ceremony	Category	Recipient	Outcome
27th Hong Kong Film Awards	Best Actor	Aaron Kwok	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Oxide Pang, Curran Pang	Nominated
	Best Art Direction	Anuson Pinyopotjanee	Nominated
	Best Costume and Makeup Design	Surasak Warakitcharoen	Nominated
	Best Original Film Score	Payont Permsith, Jadet Chawang	Nominated
	Best Sound Design	Wachira Wongsaroj	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects	Suchada Somasavachai	Nominated
44th Golden Horse Awards	Best Actor	Aaron Kwok	Nominated
44th Golden Horse Awards	Best Art Direction	Anuson Pinyopotjanee	Won
14th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards	Film of Merit	The Detective	Won

References

↑ "The Detective".

External links

The Detective at IMDb

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[1] "The Detective".

[1]

v t e Films directed by the Pang brothers
The Eye	The Eye (2002) The Eye 2 (2004) The Eye 10 (2005) The Child's Eye (2010)
Other films	Bangkok Dangerous (1999) Omen (2003) Re-cycle (2006) The Messengers (2007) Bangkok Dangerous (2008) The Storm Warriors (2009) Out of Inferno (2013)
Oxide Pang	Who Is Running? (1997) One Take Only (2001) Bangkok Haunted (2001) The Tesseract (2003) Ab-normal Beauty (2004) Diary (2006) The Detective (2007) Basic Love (2009) The Detective 2 (2011) Sleepwalker (2011) Conspirators (2013) Detective Gui (2015) My War (2016) The Big Call (2017) High Forces (TBD)
Danny Pang	Nothing to Lose (2002) Leave Me Alone (2004) Forest of Death (2007) In Love with the Dead (2007) Fairy Tale Killer (2012) The Strange House (2015) The Mirror (2015) Blind Spot (2015) Delusion (2016)