Only the River Flows

China, 1990s: in the rural town of Banpo, a woman's body is found by the river. It is up to chief inspector Ma Zhe to find the culprit, and preferably as soon as possible. People have seen a mentally challenged man walking around near the crime scene. For the media and Ma's police chief, it is obvious: this man must be the culprit. But for Ma it is not so clear at all, and despite his superiors ordering him to put the case to rest, he continues the investigation unabated - it is a murky, impenetrable case. Everything gains momentum when another body is found...

Grainy images shot on 16mm, lots of rain and fog - in short, director Shujun Wei has made a fascinating contribution to the neo-noir genre with this film, his third. Who the culprit is is of secondary importance, much more important is how Shujun offers insight into the darkness of the human soul.