2023 | China | 101 m | lang. Chinese w/English subtitles | dir. Wei Shujun | cert. 15 | content advice: strong bloody images/violence.
-
Thu 3 October // 20:00
Tickets: £5
'A witty, convoluted China-noir that is less whodunnit than whodidntit.'
Variety Magazine
-
Dedicated police detective Ma Zhe is assigned the case of a series of horrific murders in a quiet riverside town in rural China.
Operating from an incident centre in a disused cinema, as the investigation progresses, pressure from his superiors to find the suspected serial killer mounts, leading to a hasty arrest. But while his colleagues rush to celebrate, several clues push Ma Zhe deeper into a desperate and obsessive investigation of his own - leading him into a dark world where mystery hangs over his every lead, and causing him to question his methods, his morals and eventually his mind.
Adapted from a novella by Yu Hua, considered one of the greatest living authors of avant-garde fiction in China, and inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville, spiritual father of the French New Wave, this stylishly enigmatic 1990s-set crime drama was shot in low light on beautifully grainy 16mm film, lending it a lovely murky and atmospheric vintage vibe.
'Visually entrancing.'
Frieze Magazine
'A mesmerising noir.'
The Playlist
Doors open: 7.30pm
Film starts: 8pm
This screening is ad-free and starts with no more than a 10 minute selection of trailers.