Wei Shujun delivers a dark and dreamlike film with “Only the River Flows”

The Chinese director has created a thriller with layers and a philosophical satire that explores the porosity between reality and dreams. Poetic.

From the first images of the film Only the River FlowsJury Prize at the 4th Reims Crime Film Festival, Wei Shujun takes a critical look at the relationship between cinema and reality. In southern China, in what is not quite a city, but more of a village, the police commissioner informs Ma Zhe, his chief investigator, that he has good news for him: the manager of the local cinema is closing the theater because of the drastic drop in attendance. “No one goes to the cinema anymore, we’re going to turn it into a cover for the investigations.”

The head of the criminal police therefore settles into the screening room and his team on the stage. The place is dusty, abandoned. The country is not yet experiencing the current boom. The buildings are destroyed, but new constructions are slow. It is in this blurred transition that Wei Shujun sets his story which will end up impacting all the characters.

It is 1995, and it is raining continuously in Banpo. The sordid murder of an old lady awakens the invisible wounds of the inhabitants. On the scene, the police find a handbag. Who is the long-haired woman seen by witnesses? Speculations put nerves on edge. After Ripples of Life In 2021, the young Chinese director, who shot the scenes in chronological order and in 16mm, embarked on a dark, multi-layered thriller.

Only the River Flowsan adaptation of a short story by Yu Hua, offers several levels of reading and deals with various themes. The darling of Cannes, almost all of his short and feature films have been selected on the Croisette, addressing sensitive subjects: otherness, tolerance, alienation, the pressure of hierarchy…

One of the originalities of the film, beyond the aesthetics and the plot, is its double narration. We follow the progress of the investigation, but also the family life of Inspector Ma Zhe. The two parts, without being closely linked, interact as if by a mirror effect. With as a corollary a loss of bearings for Ma Zhe, but also for the audience. The boundaries between reality and dream become porous.

Is this a metaphor between cinema and reality? Carried by Chinese star Zhu Yilong, the main character sinks into a form of unreality as the murders pile up and his personal life goes off the rails. Only the River Flows breaks free from the detective story code to explore other paths. With happiness.

Gender : Tthriller, policeman

LANGUAGES : Chinese with French subtitles

Realization : Wei Shujun

Distribution : Zhu Yilong, Zeng Meihuizi, Hou Tianlai

Duration : 1h42

Theatrical release: July 10, 2024

Synopsis: In China, in the 1990s, three murders are committed in the small town of Banpo. Ma Zhe, the head of the criminal police, is tasked with solving the case. A handbag abandoned on the river bank and testimonies from passers-by point to several suspects. As the case stalls, Inspector Ma is confronted with the darkness of the human soul and sinks into doubt…