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The Missing

Name: The Missing
Director: Xu Jinglei
Released: 2017
Duration: 95 min

Representation Score

3.4/10

Limited

2017

Director

Xu Jinglei

Runtime

95 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film stands out by focusing on women's ability to drive the story within a crime thriller. By placing a woman at the center of the investigative process, it avoids common clichés where female characters serve merely as secondary motivators for male leads. While the gender representation is progressive, the film remains culturally traditional. It operates within a homogeneous Chinese setting and does not engage with broader identity politics or radical institutional critiques. The overall impact is a character-driven study that prioritizes the female experience, even as it stays within conventional social and cultural frameworks.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Missing have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or explore non-straight relationships. It focuses on a family crisis without addressing queer themes.

How does The Missing portray gender?

Good

A female protagonist drives the investigation, providing central ability to act rather than acting as a passive victim. This challenges traditional genre hierarchies by centering maternal and professional resilience.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Missing?

Fair

The setting is a culturally homogeneous contemporary Chinese urban environment. It offers an authentic, localized representation of a specific demographic without a Western-centric perspective.

How does The Missing represent religion and culture?

Fair

The narrative follows standard contemporary social structures. It leans toward psychological realism and the instability of memory rather than exploring radical social or political themes.

Does The Missing include disability representation?

Minimal

A character experiences amnesia due to a car accident. It is unclear if this serves as a meaningful exploration of cognitive impairment or functions strictly as a plot device.

Present on Screen

Centers a female protagonist with high investigative ability to act, subverting traditional genre roles.
Provides an authentic, localized representation of contemporary urban Chinese life.
Focuses on the subjective, psychological experience of the protagonist rather than just procedural mechanics.

Limited or Absent

Does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or explore non-straight relationships.
The use of amnesia remains ambiguous, potentially serving as a plot device rather than a deep exploration of disability.
Maintains a culturally homogeneous perspective with limited social or political critique.

Official Synopsis

The Missing’ centres on the mysterious case of a policewoman’s missing daughter. When the main suspect suffers amnesia due to a car accident, both sides of the law must team up to try to find out the truth.

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