Image Credit: Trinity CineAsia — Official Trailer via YouTube
A bite mark. A broken fingernail. A fragment so small that most people would sweep it away without a second thought. In the Traces of Justice movie, those tiny details are the whole story — and they are enough, again and again, to point investigators toward a killer.
The Traces of Justice movie is not a shoot-first police thriller. It is a forensic procedural that follows one investigator, Cui Xun, across five decades of Chinese criminal cases, watching both the crimes and the science change around him. Directed and co-written by Chen Sicheng, the creator of the blockbuster Detective Chinatown franchise, the film opened in China on 1 October 2026 and led the country’s box office on its first day. It has since reached cinemas in the UK and Ireland, with a Singapore theatrical release dated 12 November 2026. Here is why this unusual crime epic deserves a place on your watchlist.
1. The Traces of Justice movie is built on real cases, not invented twists
The Traces of Justice movie draws on four of China’s most high-profile criminal cases, spanning five decades, and takes its inspiration from the career of pioneering forensic investigator Cui Daozhi, described by distributor Trinity CineAsia as the “Sherlock Holmes” of China’s criminal investigation field. That grounding changes the film’s texture. The tension does not come from a villain monologuing about a master plan. It comes from a laboratory, a crime scene, and a scientist fighting to be believed.
ScreenDaily reports that the four cases revisited in the film include a 1971 serial child murder case in Harbin, a 1983 murder and robbery case, a 1998 bus bombing case in Wuhan, and a series of sexual assaults and murders in 2016. Each case is told through the advances in forensic technology available at the time, so the audience watches the investigation itself evolve — from rudimentary tools in the 1970s to far more sophisticated methods decades later.
2. Cui Xun is a hero who wins with evidence, not a gun
Zhang Yi plays Cui Xun, a trace-evidence specialist, alongside Ma Li as a forensic pathologist and Chen Minghao as a veteran detective. In the earliest case, set in 1971, Cui pioneers the use of dental indentations to identify suspects in the same way as fingerprints — at a time when science itself is distrusted and his mentor has to be rescued from a re-education camp. By 1983, he has a team and a school teaching modern forensic techniques, but he still has to fight to have a broken fingernail taken seriously as identification evidence.
That arc is the film’s quiet superpower. The Traces of Justice movie shows a man who stays in the same job for a lifetime, refining the same craft, while the country around him changes. Zhang Yi has described the film as a tribute to generations of police officers whose work has largely remained out of public view, and that humility runs through the performance. Cui Xun does not chase glory. He chases a match.
3. Four cases, four eras, one evolving China
Rather than one long investigation, the Traces of Justice movie is structured as a journey through time, and that structure gives it a scope most crime films never attempt.
The 1971 case is about survival — of evidence, and of science itself. Crime scenes are trampled, forensic teams are kept out, and Cui must argue for method in a world that trusts muscle over microscopes. The 1983 case shifts to the chaos of economic reform, where a prime suspect has a rich and influential father who tries to frame a colleague. The 1998 Wuhan bus bombing brings scale and horror, testing a more mature forensic system. The 2016 case, in which Cui is asked to consult on a serial killer case while preparing to accept a national honour, brings the story full circle: a confession is not enough, and one last victim’s family still deserves a formal charge.
Watching those eras side by side is what makes the Traces of Justice movie feel epic without ever leaving the laboratory. The costumes, the offices, the tools and the attitudes all change. The question — can a tiny trace prove the truth? — never does.
4. The cast brings blockbuster weight to a thoughtful story
Chen Sicheng has assembled a high-profile ensemble for the Traces of Justice movie. Alongside Zhang Yi, Ma Li and Chen Minghao, the cast includes Karry Wang, Fan Chengcheng and Chen Feiyu, with a special appearance by veteran actor Li Xuejian. Ma Li, best known to many audiences for comedy, plays against type as a forensic pathologist, while Chen Minghao’s detective provides the old-school counterweight to Cui’s scientific approach in the early years.
The film is directed and co-written by Chen Sicheng with Ji Zhang, and produced by As One Pictures. Its Chinese title is Shen Tan Zhi Hen Ji, and it is also known as Sherlock of China. The runtime is 2 hours 20 minutes, in Chinese, which gives each of the four cases room to breathe rather than rushing from clue to confession.
5. The box office story is already remarkable
The Traces of Justice movie led China’s box office on Thursday 1 October 2026, the first day of the weeklong National Day holiday, earning 71 million yuan — about $10.5 million — and nearly 40 percent of total ticket sales that day, according to ticketing platform Maoyan as reported by ScreenDaily. Over the 2–4 October weekend it grossed a reported RMB 208.9 million, around $31.2 million, according to Artisan Gateway figures.
Those numbers matter because the film is not a traditional blockbuster. It has no superhero, no franchise sequel hook, and no effects-driven spectacle at its centre. Its success suggests audiences were ready for a crime story built on patience, evidence and real history — and that is an encouraging sign for thoughtful mainstream cinema.
Where to watch the Traces of Justice movie
The Traces of Justice movie opened in China on 1 October 2026. In the UK and Ireland, distributor Trinity CineAsia listed the film for cinemas from 30 October 2026, with previews from 17 October, while some listings show a 6 November date — so it is worth checking local listings before booking. The official Singapore trailer bills the film in Singapore cinemas from 12 November 2026. No OTT or streaming date has been announced yet, and this article will not guess one; a streaming premiere will be reported when a platform confirms it.
If you enjoy crime stories where the detective work is the action, where a single mark on a victim can undo a powerful suspect, and where history is told through science rather than speeches, the Traces of Justice movie is one of the most distinctive releases of this season. It proves, case after case, that the smallest trace can carry the biggest truth.
Watch the official trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypHrwqIWbGs
For another very different new release, read our God with Us movie article here: https://filmyyfly.com/2026/11/01/god-with-us-movie/
Frequently asked questions
What is the Traces of Justice movie about?
The Traces of Justice movie follows forensic investigator Cui Xun across five decades as he investigates four major real-inspired criminal cases in China, using trace evidence such as bite marks, fragments and fingerprints to identify suspects.
Who directs the Traces of Justice movie?
Chen Sicheng directs and co-writes the Traces of Justice movie with Ji Zhang. Chen is best known as the creator of the Detective Chinatown franchise.
Who stars in the Traces of Justice movie?
The Traces of Justice movie stars Zhang Yi as Cui Xun, with Ma Li as a forensic pathologist and Chen Minghao as a veteran detective, alongside Karry Wang, Fan Chengcheng, Chen Feiyu and Li Xuejian.
When was the Traces of Justice movie released?
The Traces of Justice movie opened in China on 1 October 2026, reached UK and Irish cinemas around 30 October 2026, and is billed for Singapore cinemas from 12 November 2026. No OTT date has been announced.
Is the Traces of Justice movie based on a true story?
The Traces of Justice movie is inspired by real high-profile cases and by the career of forensic trace-evidence expert Cui Daozhi, but Cui Xun is a fictionalised investigator at its centre.
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