A Writer's Odyssey

A Writer's Odyssey follows two stories that gradually intertwine. In a fantasy realm, a young hero named Kongwen sets out to end the rule of the tyrant Lord Redmane, guided by a mysterious figure known as Black Armor. In the present-day world, Guan Ning has spent six years searching for his daughter, who vanished without a trace. His hunt brings him into contact with child traffickers, and after the police mistake him for a criminal, a woman named Tu Ling helps him escape and offers him a deal: in exchange for information about his daughter, he must kill the novelist Lu Kongwen, whose fantasy series appears to be harming her employer. The novel's imagined world and Guan Ning's reality turn out to be connected in ways that affect both.

Lu Yang directed the film, his fourth feature, following Brotherhood of Blades, its sequel The Infernal Battlefield and The Sacrifice. Qin Haiyan, Lu Yang and Chen Shu wrote the screenplay, and Ning Hao served among the producers. Lei Jiayin plays Guan Ning, Yang Mi plays Tu Ling, Dong Zijian plays the author and his fictional hero, and Guo Jingfei appears as Black Armor, with Yu Hewei and Tong Liya in supporting roles.

Released in China in February 2021, the film runs 130 minutes and combines action, adventure, drama and fantasy. It earned about 150 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.2 from around 5,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.1 from roughly 387 votes; a critics' rating of 6.8 from 14 reviews sits between the two audience scores. A sequel followed in 2025.