# Who Am I? (我是谁) (1998 film)
**Who Am I?** (我是谁) is a 1998 Hong Kong action comedy directed by [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan) and Benny Chan, starring Jackie Chan as a commando who loses his memory after a helicopter crash in South Africa and is named "Who Am I" by the tribe that rescues him.[1](https://shotonwhat.com/who-am-i-1998) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i) It was produced by Golden Harvest, shot in English on location in South Africa and the Netherlands, and released in Hong Kong on 17 January 1998.[3](https://www.dvdreview.com/1999/03/who-am-i/) • [4](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1986786/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Directors | Jackie Chan and Benny Chan; written by Jackie Chan, Susan Chan, and Lee Reynolds[1](https://shotonwhat.com/who-am-i-1998) |
| Hong Kong release | 17 January 1998; production began 14 April 1997[4](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1986786/) • [5](https://www.thorstenboose.de/en/2022/10/18/filmtech-jackie-chans-forgotten-film-equipment-rental-company-updated/) |
| Runtime | 120 minutes (Hong Kong cut); 108 minutes (United States)[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127357/technical/) |
| Hong Kong box office | HK$38,852,845, second-highest-grossing Hong Kong film of 1998[7](https://g-city.sass.org.cn/_upload/article/files/c2/ea/ddf07785453288d67af5f7c36970/8305c418-2698-4988-8f8c-b78fea8e565c.pdf) |
| Worldwide gross | $22 million, out-grossing Titanic in some Asian territories[8](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3-euw1-ap-pe-ws4-cws-documents.ri-prod/routledgesw/books/9781138819511/companion_readings/Chapter_11_Celebrity_ageing_and_Jackie_Chan_middle_aged.pdf) |
| Awards | Won Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards; nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor[9](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Jackie-Chan_e.pdf) • [10](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/who-am-i/2030282365/) |
| Reception | 70% Tomatometer (10 reviews) and 68% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
A covert team of operatives is sent to kidnap a group of scientists working on a powerful new energy source in South Africa.[11](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/) The team is double-crossed by the corrupt agent Morgan (Ron Smerczak), who causes a helicopter crash in remote South Africa.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i) The sole survivor, played by Jackie Chan, suffers severe amnesia and is nursed back to health by a native tribe, who call him "Whoami" after the question he keeps asking.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i)
With the help of a mysterious reporter, Christine Stark (Michelle Ferre), and a racecar driver, Yuki (Mirai Yamamoto), he pieces together his past and tracks the turncoat agent and his cohorts from Africa to Europe.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i) • [12](https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/p/jackie-chans-who-am-i/8d6kgwxn3zsn) The character never learns his identity on screen; the film ends with the reporter promising that information on his identity is being sent through.[11](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/)
## Production and cast
Jackie Chan returned to the roles of writer and director with this film, his first in that capacity since *Armour of God 2: Operation Condor* (1991).[13](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2016/09/26/who-am-i-1998/) It was his second film shot entirely in English, after *Mr. Nice Guy* (1997), and the last of a trilogy of English-language international films, following *First Strike* and *Mr. Nice Guy*, that he made before starring in Hollywood's *Rush Hour* the same year.[3](https://www.dvdreview.com/1999/03/who-am-i/) • [11](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/)
Michelle Ferre, a former CNN headline presenter, was chosen by Chan for her screen debut in the film.[14](https://eiga.com/movie/48603/) The supporting cast includes Ron Smerczak as Morgan and [Ed Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-nelson) as General Sherman.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i) Nicky Li of the Jackie Chan stunt team and Chin Ka-Lok of the [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung) stunt team choreographed the action together.[5](https://www.thorstenboose.de/en/2022/10/18/filmtech-jackie-chans-forgotten-film-equipment-rental-company-updated/)
## Filming locations and stunts
The film was shot entirely on location in South Africa and the Netherlands.[3](https://www.dvdreview.com/1999/03/who-am-i/) Rotterdam locations include the Erasmusbrug, the Coolsingel, and the Willemswerf building.[15](https://moviescenemap.com/film/who-am-i/) It remains the largest foreign feature film ever shot in [Rotterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/rotterdam), according to a Dutch account.[16](https://www.hpdetijd.nl/cultuur-media/cultuur/37791/hoe-wereldsteden-vechten-om-een-plekje-in-de-film)
**The Willemswerf finale.** The climax is a fight against two hitmen on the angled exterior of the Willemswerf skyscraper in Rotterdam, ending with Chan sliding down the building's sloped glass facade.[17](https://whatsinascene.substack.com/p/jackie-chan-breakouts-who-am-i) • [18](https://opus.ing/diet/384236) The blooper reel at the end of the film shows the scene was shot on location, with Chan dangling some 50 floors above the street without a safety net.[3](https://www.dvdreview.com/1999/03/who-am-i/) Other noted sequences include a car chase, a fight involving Dutch wooden clogs, and the rooftop fight, which reviewers have called one of Chan's best.[11](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/) • [18](https://opus.ing/diet/384236)
## Versions and distribution
The Hong Kong theatrical cut runs 120 minutes; the United States cut runs 108 minutes.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127357/technical/) For the US release, many plot scenes were removed, though the shorter version was not given a new soundtrack, and Chan dubbed himself.[19](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127357/faq/) The Hong Kong version contains extra scenes of the hero learning the tribe's language, and it presents the double-cross as a later flashback rather than an opening reveal.[11](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/)
[Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) licensed the entire American distribution rights from Golden Harvest, an unusual arrangement for a Hong Kong film at the time.[3](https://www.dvdreview.com/1999/03/who-am-i/) The film received only a limited Western theatrical release and was largely relegated to home video outside Asia.[20](https://cinevault-hub.pages.dev/movies/jackiechans/whoami)
## Reception and place in Chan's career
The film earned HK$38,852,845 in Hong Kong, ranking second among 1998 local releases, and grossed $22 million worldwide.[7](https://g-city.sass.org.cn/_upload/article/files/c2/ea/ddf07785453288d67af5f7c36970/8305c418-2698-4988-8f8c-b78fea8e565c.pdf) • [8](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3-euw1-ap-pe-ws4-cws-documents.ri-prod/routledgesw/books/9781138819511/companion_readings/Chapter_11_Celebrity_ageing_and_Jackie_Chan_middle_aged.pdf) At the 1999 Hong Kong Film Awards it won Best Action Choreography, Chan's second such award after *Rumble in the Bronx* (1995), and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Film Editing.[9](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Jackie-Chan_e.pdf) • [10](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/who-am-i/2030282365/)
Critics have generally treated the film as a late-career high point with caveats. Rotten Tomatoes records 70% on the Tomatometer from 10 reviews and 68% from more than 25,000 audience ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i) Reviewers praise the action while noting a slow first hour and a thin plot; the Starburst review calls it probably the final Chan film to feature all the classic elements of his trademark style.[11](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/) • [17](https://whatsinascene.substack.com/p/jackie-chan-breakouts-who-am-i) A Rotterdam-focused account notes that the city appears both as a modern high-rise metropolis and as an anonymous, alienating stand-in for non-Dutch settings, with some South African scenes also filmed there.[21](https://artofrotterdam.com/en/blogs/nieuws/films-van-rotterdam-van-havenstad-tot-filmdecor)
## References
1. [Who Am I? (1998) technical and crew details, ShotOnWhat?](https://shotonwhat.com/who-am-i-1998)
2. [Who Am I?, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_am_i)
3. [Who Am I? DVD review by Guido Henkel, DVD Review & High Definition (March 1, 1999)](https://www.dvdreview.com/1999/03/who-am-i/)
4. [我是谁 (1998), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1986786/)
5. [Filmtech – Jackie Chan's forgotten film equipment rental company, Jackie Chan Deutschland](https://www.thorstenboose.de/en/2022/10/18/filmtech-jackie-chans-forgotten-film-equipment-rental-company-updated/)
6. [Who Am I? (1998) technical specifications, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127357/technical/)
7. [香港电影市场票房数据表, 上海社会科学院](https://g-city.sass.org.cn/_upload/article/files/c2/ea/ddf07785453288d67af5f7c36970/8305c418-2698-4988-8f8c-b78fea8e565c.pdf)
8. [Celebrity, ageing and Jackie Chan, Routledge companion chapter](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3-euw1-ap-pe-ws4-cws-documents.ri-prod/routledgesw/books/9781138819511/companion_readings/Chapter_11_Celebrity_ageing_and_Jackie_Chan_middle_aged.pdf)
9. [Hong Kong Filmmakers Search: Jackie Chan, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Jackie-Chan_e.pdf)
10. [Who Am I? – Where to Watch and Stream, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/who-am-i/2030282365/)
11. [WHO AM I?, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/who-am-i/)
12. [Jackie Chan's Who Am I?, Microsoft Store](https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/p/jackie-chans-who-am-i/8d6kgwxn3zsn)
13. [Who Am I? (1998), Silver Emulsion Film Reviews](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2016/09/26/who-am-i-1998/)
14. [WHO AM I? 作品情報, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/48603/)
15. [Where was Who Am I? filmed?, Movie Scene Map](https://moviescenemap.com/film/who-am-i/)
16. [Hoe wereldsteden vechten om een plekje in de film, HP/De Tijd](https://www.hpdetijd.nl/cultuur-media/cultuur/37791/hoe-wereldsteden-vechten-om-een-plekje-in-de-film)
17. [Jackie Chan Breakouts: Who Am I?, What's In A Scene (Substack)](https://whatsinascene.substack.com/p/jackie-chan-breakouts-who-am-i)
18. [Review of "Who Am I?" by Jackie Chan, Benny Chan, Opus](https://opus.ing/diet/384236)
19. [Who Am I? (1998) FAQ, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127357/faq/)
20. [Who Am I? (1998) Review & Details, CineVault](https://cinevault-hub.pages.dev/movies/jackiechans/whoami)
21. [Films about Rotterdam – From Port City to Film Set, Art of Rotterdam](https://artofrotterdam.com/en/blogs/nieuws/films-van-rotterdam-van-havenstad-tot-filmdecor)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action comedies › Action comedies, 1970s to 1990s*
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