# Article 20 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Article_20 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Article_20.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_20 > Source revision: 1353290468 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ***Article 20*** (simplified Chinese: 第二十条) is a 2024 Chinese [drama film](/source/Drama_film) directed by [Zhang Yimou](/source/Zhang_Yimou), and stars [Lei Jiayin](/source/Lei_Jiayin), [Ma Li](/source/Ma_Li_(actress)), [Zhao Liying](/source/Zhao_Liying) and Gao Ye. The film tells the story of a prosecutor who has reached middle age and wants to seize the last opportunity to work at the Municipal Procuratorate. The film [juxtaposes](/source/Juxtaposition) his career and family life with the similar struggle in both.[2] *Article 20* was released in theaters in China on February 10, 2024, in [IMAX](/source/IMAX), CINITY, [Dolby Vision](/source/Dolby_Vision) and other formats.[3] The title originates from Article 20 of the [Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China](/source/Criminal_Law_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China), the statute of "[legitimate defense](/source/Right_of_self-defense) ()". ## Plot Since taking a temporary position at the city prosecutor's office, Han Ming has been plagued with one headache after another. Both in and out of work, Han Ming frequently talks to and travels with his colleague, Lu Lingling (a former college girlfriend of his), causing cases to drag on unresolved. His wife, Li Maojuan, even perceives this as him cheating. Zhang Guisheng, a former bus driver, an acquaintance of Han Ming, was fired from his job several years ago for fighting back against hooligans who harassed a woman on the bus and got into a fight. He is going to take a train to Beijing to appeal the case (at his teenage daughter's insistence) but on the way to the train station is hit by a high-speed truck and dies. Han Ming is also investigating a rape case filed by a deaf woman, Hao Xiuping. Her husband fatally stabbed the rapist and was incarcerated. The rapist's accomplices have been harassing the woman and attempting to force her to sign a document dropping the charges. Desperate and scared for the safety of her husband and child, she jumps off the top floor of a construction site. His son Yuchen sees the son of his school's principal beating up a classmate and intervenes. He fights the son and breaks his nose, causing the principal to sue his parents. Yuchen refuses to apologize and does not explain the full situation. This causes a group of the principal's son's friends to beat him up one day. His wife, outraged by this, takes matters into her own hands and assaults the principal, escalating the conflict even further and leading to her own [administrative detention](/source/Administrative_detention). As the battle between emotion and law unfolds, and the struggle to balance career and family intensifies, Han Ming decides to risk everything, determined to uphold fairness and justice in his own way. In court, Han Ming calls for charges against the defendants in all of these cases be dropped. He invokes Article 20 of Chinese criminal law, suggesting that all of these were valid self-defense cases. His speech receives applause from the audience, and all are freed. ## Cast - [Lei Jiayin](/source/Lei_Jiayin) as Han Ming - [Ma Li](/source/Ma_Li_(actress)) as Li Maojuan - [Zhao Liying](/source/Zhao_Liying) as Hao Xiuping - [Gao Ye](/source/Gao_Ye) as Lu Lingling - [Liu Yaowen](/source/Liu_Yaowen) as Han Yuchen - Wang Xiao as Deputy Prosecutor Tian - [Chen Minghao](/source/Chen_Minghao) as Li Maoquan - [Pan Binlong](/source/Pan_Binlong) as Wang Yongqiang - [Zhang Yi](/source/Zhang_Yi_(actor)) as Zhang - [Fan Wei](/source/Fan_Wei_(actor)) as Liu Bingren - [Yu Hewei](/source/Yu_Hewei) as Prosecutor Wang ## Production ### Filming [Principal photography](/source/Principal_photography) began on July 1, 2023 in [Langfang](/source/Langfang), [Hebei](/source/Hebei).[4] ## Release On January 12, 2024, the film was officially announced to be released on February 10, 2024 (the first day of the [Lunar New Year](/source/Lunar_New_Year)), along with a scheduled poster (that revealed the cast of main actors for the first time) and a preview.[3] ## Reception ### Box office The final box office of the film was 2.454 billion yuan, breaking 9 film history records and ranking 28th on the current box office list of Chinese film history.[5] The film was the 23rd highest grossing film of 2024.[6] ## Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominee / Work Result 2024 37th Hundred Flowers Awards Best Picture Article 20 [7] Best Director Zhang Yimou Best Writing Li Meng, Zhang Yimou Best Actress Ma Li Best Supporting Actress Zhao Liying Best Newcomer Liu Yaowen 19th Changchun Film Festival - Golden Deer Award Best Director Zhang Yimou [8] 37th Golden Rooster Awards Best Picture Article 20 [9] Best Director Han Yan Best Actor Lei Jiayin Best Actress Ma Li Best Supporting Actress Zhao Liying Best Writing Li Meng, Zhang Yimou Best Art Direction Lin Mu Best Music Zhao Lin 2025 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards Best Asian Chinese Language Film Article 20 [10] ## References 1. ["China Box-office"](https://www.zgdypw.cn/). *China Movie Database*. Retrieved 2024-03-01. 1. Tang, Wei (2024-02-23). ["张艺谋揭秘第二十条背后故事"](http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20240223/4da4594b25f7464380ed2cc3b3da25b5/c.html) [en：Zhang Yimou reveals the story behind Article 20]. *Beijing Youth Daily* 1. ["张艺谋新电影开机！新"谋女郎"是她......"](https://www.sohu.com/a/694898717_121124566). *Sohu*. 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2024-03-01. 1. ["张艺谋新电影开机！新的"谋女郎"是她......-上游新闻 汇聚向上的力量"](https://www.cqcb.com/yuqingbobao/2023-07-05/5309710_pc.html). *www.cqcb.com*. Retrieved 2024-01-27. 1. ["两部春节档影片最终票房出炉：《飞驰人生2》近34亿元 《第二十条》超24亿元-新闻-上海证券报·中国证券网"](https://news.cnstock.com/news,bwkx-202405-5229986.htm). *news.cnstock.com*. Retrieved 2024-09-30. 1. ["2024 Worldwide Box Office - Box Office Mojo"](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2024/). *Box Office Mojo*. Retrieved March 26, 2025. 1. ["光影岁月 花开朵朵——从百花奖看新时代中国电影之路"](http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/20240807/71aef4bafdc14053b4a4023c51601e87/c.html). *[Xinhua News](/source/Xinhua_News)*. 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2025-03-19. 1. ["金鹿奖获奖名单揭晓，张艺谋凭《第二十条》获最佳导演奖"](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20240901A074N000). *[Tencent QQ](/source/Tencent_QQ)*. 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2025-03-19. 1. ["第37届中国电影金鸡奖获奖名单"](https://www.cgrhfff.com/goldenroosteraward/winners-list/winners-list-2024/). *Golden Rooster Awards*. Retrieved 2025-03-19. 1. Wong, Michelle (27 April 2025). ["See All The Winners At The 2025 Hong Kong Film Awards"](https://www.voguehk.com/en/article/art-lifestyle/2025-hong-kong-film-awards-winners/). *[Vogue Hong Kong](/source/Vogue_Hong_Kong)*. Retrieved 27 April 2025. ## External links - [Article 20](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28258332/) at IMDb --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Article 20](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_20) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_20?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.