Photo: Weibo account of the film Sheep Without A Shepherd

Sheep Without a Shepherd, a newly released Chinese detective movie adapted from Indian thriller Drishyam (2013), enthralled the audience both in reputation and box office takings one week after hitting theaters across the Chinese mainland.

Set in an imaginary place similar to northern Thailand, the film tells the story of a father trying to cover up his daughter's manslaughter of a boy who had raped her and threatened her with sex videos.

It has grossed nearly 350 million yuan ($50 million) as of Wednesday, leading the mainland box office.

It collected about 31 million yuan on Wednesday alone, nearly triple that of the highly-anticipated Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the ninth installment and final movie of the epic sci-fi franchise.

The film also earned a rating of 7.7/10 on Douban, a major Chinese media rating site, beating 80 percent of suspense films recorded on the platform.

"I think it is the best Chinese suspense film I have watched this year. Actually, I've never seen a Chinese suspense film with such a complete logical chain," a viewer surnamed Zhao told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The work is the first feature film of Malaysian director Sam Quah and stars several method performers, including Chinese-American actress Joan Chen, actor Xiao Yang and actress Tan Zhuo, who is famous for acting in the costume TV drama Story of Yanxi Palace.

Its original version, Drishyam, has reportedly been remade into several languages including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada.

How to make the Chinese version different and impressive given such a successful original edition was the biggest challenge facing its first writer Yang Weiwei.

"Drishyam is already a very mature work, it will be my responsibility if I fail to create a good remake," Yang was quoted as saying in a report by China Film News on Tuesday.

Left without many options in plot adaptation, Yang decided to use emotion as a cutting point for her version of the remake.

"The story could be a very good carrier for various elements including family affection, responsibility, social conflicts, youth education and class contradictions," Yang said, noting that it is a brand new experience for her to infuse these elements into a suspense story.

The father, also the leading character, named Li Weijie, is an owner of a small network agency, not rich or with great ability but an enthusiastic movie fan.

In the story, he used the method of montage in filmmaking - show in fast motion a short sequence of clipped images or actions accompanied by sound effects - to create alibis for his family members.

As a father and husband, although having some disagreements with his wife and daughters, he stands up to protect his family disregarding himself when dangers approach, which is a typical Chinese family relationship and fatherhood, Yang said.

Such vivid characterization, combined with the performers' excellent acting abilities, is one of the reasons that made the audience believe and identify with the story, Shi Wenxue, a Beijing-based film critic, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Lawan, the police bureau chief who is also the mother of the dead boy and wife of a mayoral candidate, struggles with sense and sensibility which presents a strong contrast for the audience. The character is played by Joan Chen.

The film pays respect to many classic suspense and crime movies, including US films The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Buried (2010) and South Korean film Montage (2013).

Some viewers expressed dissatisfaction with the ending as Li turns himself in to police.

But Shi said it is an ending that delivers the wisdom, justice and positive energy that the film really wants to present.

The film title Sheep Without a Shepherd, a proverb that comes from The Bible, not only indicates that where the story happens is a place outside of judicial reach but also stands for Li, who is caught in a series of incidents out of his control.

Li clearly understands that he has to stop the impact of the mistake from spreading, Shi said.

What makes an extraordinary realistic film? Ensuring the splendidness of the story while making the audience reflect and increase their social responsibility, Shi said.