Looking for Jackie 2009

Zhang Yishan is a 16-year-old boy living in Indonesia with his grandmother Tian Hua. After facing bullying and catching a glimpse of Jackie Chan arriving in Beijing, he decides to travel there to meet his idol and become his disciple. Once in Beijing, his limited knowledge of Chinese lands him at the wrong place, and he ends up staying in a temple where he befriends a girl living there with her aunt. He learns that she works in films with an actor who knows Jackie, and he asks her to question him about Jackie’s whereabouts. When she forgets, he sets off on his own to search for his idol.

His quest takes a sharp turn at a station where his wallet is stolen, and he is kidnapped by the thugs who took it. They contact his grandparents to demand a ransom, prompting the police to go undercover. The officers almost catch the criminals, but the gang escapes. In the midst of this, Zhang is briefly released by a woman who sees him as her late little brother. After escaping and informing the police about the thugs, they are eventually captured, and a female police officer Jiang Hongbo takes him to her house for the night. In the morning, she heads out to pursue the escaped leader while Zhang hopes to meet Jackie. Instead, he encounters the gang leader being chased by the officer, and after a short confrontation the leader is captured while the officer is badly wounded. Zhang carries the injured officer to the hospital, and he is later returned to his grandparents.

After a dispute with his grandmother, he goes to a film studio where he is cast as an extra but is soon tossed out. Meanwhile, his grandmother asks Jackie to meet her grandson, and Jackie Chan agrees. Jackie brings Zhang to the studio, where Zhang watches Jackie in action and shares a brief conversation with his idol. Jackie then escorts him home and encourages Zhang to study hard.

In the end, Zhang passes his exams and earns the respect of his classmates. He phones Jackie to share the good news, but there is no reply at first. Doubts creep in about whether he really met Jackie, but a moment later a promised photograph arrives—the image Jackie had promised would be sent if he succeeded—providing a tangible proof of the encounter and a fitting close to Zhang’s journey.