In Only the River Flows, Wei Shujun’s adaptation of the Yu Hua novella, an old woman (Cao Yang) is murdered on the bank of a Chinese town’s river. There are no taunting notes or occult artifacts left behind in the weeds. The body hasn’t been cut up or otherwise contorted into a nihilistic art project. It simply lies in the mud, blood trailing from a neck wound.
Wei has crafted a noir that rejects the more dramatic trappings of such stories. In a too-knowing bit of contrast, the rural town’s police operate out of an abandoned movie theater, as if to suggest that the tidy fictions once projected there are at odds with a reality that’s more mundane yet far less explicable. Even when an arrest is made, the loose ends haunt lead investigator Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong), despite pressure from his superior (Hou Tianlai...
Wei has crafted a noir that rejects the more dramatic trappings of such stories. In a too-knowing bit of contrast, the rural town’s police operate out of an abandoned movie theater, as if to suggest that the tidy fictions once projected there are at odds with a reality that’s more mundane yet far less explicable. Even when an arrest is made, the loose ends haunt lead investigator Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong), despite pressure from his superior (Hou Tianlai...
- 7/22/2024
- by Steven Scaife
- Slant Magazine
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.