The Plot: Rural China, 1995. Police detective and father-to-be Ma (Zhu Yilong) is drawn into a murder investigation involving an elderly woman found in the river. There’s not much evidence to go on, with rumours of a madman in the riverside town. His superiors want the case solved quickly to improve their image among the locals, but it’s not an open-and-shut case…
The Verdict: Amidst the more mainstream, Government-approved, films coming out of the modern Chinese film industry there is the occasional film that has arthouse leanings and more thought process at work. Working within the strict constraints of Government regulations can’t be easy for filmmakers wishing to tackle more adult themes, but there are ways to still make an effective genre film. That’s where we find director and co-writer Wei Shujun with his third film, police procedural Only The River Flows. It’s adapted from the novella by Yu Hua, with Wei commenting that it shows a certain subversion of the traditional detective narrative – the the resolution of the mystery is not its only issue. There are wider themes at play here about police interference in the private lives of citizens under suspicion and a mystery taking its mental and physical toll on its characters including Ma.
The rural setting and slow-burn style of the film recalls Bong Joon Ho’s Memories Of Murder, though Only The River Flows isn’t as sharply calibrated to thrill and confound. An alternative title might be Only The River Knows, as it acts as a silent witness to the murders taking place in and around it. The trail of evidence goes hot and then cold, suspected characters are investigated but are unwilling to talk, while others come forward in the belief that they know more than Ma. His home life takes a dive as he becomes obsessed with solving the case, leading to a number of vivid, well-staged dream sequences that suggest his frantic state of mind. Those sequences are the stand-out of the film, the air of unreality having more than a grain of truth to them. The period setting limits how quickly the killer can be caught, relying less on forensics and more on old-school footwork, questioning and dogged determination.
Viewed from a western perspective, this eastern film is more than a bit enigmatic in the way it approaches its characters and their predicaments. There’s a lot left unsaid by Wei, suggesting a game of Chinese whispers wherein the characters spread rumours and gossip to the point where reliable recollection of events comes into question. That makes for an intriguing set-up from a narrative perspective, but Wei’s delivery of all this is somewhat stiff and occasionally lacking dramatic tension. The plot shudders to a halt at times, then suddenly picks up for a sudden death or a surprise revelation. That dryness in the script sometimes works against it, but the actors work around that to add dimensions to their character motivations. Only The River Flows can be patience-testing but for those willing to engage with its diverging rivulets, it’s ultimately a rewarding watch that marks Wei as a name to look out for.
Rating: 3 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: Chinese whispers
Directed by Wei Shujun.
Starring Zhu Yilong, Chloe Maayan, Hou Tianlai, Tong Linkai.