[1] Drifters follows the story of a young slacker, Hong Yunsheng, who has become something of a local celebrity partly due to his repeated failures as a stowaway.

Unlike Wang's previous film, Beijing Bicycle, Drifters received mixed reviews from western critics.

Derek Elley of Variety claimed that the film's "potentially involving story is too often chopped off at the knees," and also found the movie's cast to be limited by inexperience.

Bérénice Reynaud of Senses of Cinema found Drifters to be superior to the "superficial" Beijing Bicycle, and placed it in the growing category of "mature, disturbing, thought-provoking masterpieces inspired by globalisation.

Special features on the disc included biographies of the cast and crew, as well as a short film, Robot Boy by Ted Passon.