Only the River Flows
In 1990s rural China, a woman’s body is found by the river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, leads an investigation into what appears to be a simple case of murder, but he is not convinced. Against his superior’s orders, he continues to investigate, leading him down a rabbit hole that questions his sense of reality.
Adapted from a novella by acclaimed Chinese author Yu Hua Only the River Flows is a stylish neo-noir from director Wei Shujun, who is fast emerging as one of the youngest, brightest minds in Chinese cinema.
Like the best of the noir genre, Only the River Flows is drenched in rain and fog, enhanced by the grainy texture of 16mm film. The murder investigation warps into an investigation of the mind, in which the audience is left to decipher what is real and what is not in an absurd world.
