Only the River Flows - JIATING JIANSHI

Pitch

In China, in the 1990s, three murders were committed in the small town of Banpo. Ma Zhe, the criminal police chief, was in charge of solving the case. A handbag, abandoned by the riverside, together with witness accounts from passers-by implicated several suspects. While the affair was at a virtual standstill, Inspector Ma was faced with the darkness of the human soul and sank deeper into doubt… ‘Only The River Flows’ is the adaptation of a short story by Yu Hua. “The theme of uncertainty which runs through the text opens up a certain space for the film, allowing it to offer a second reading : the ambiguity of the short story means that it can also be read as a fable, an enigmatic reflection on fate, or even a picture of social relationships through the portrait of several characters. Another important aspect of the original work is the period in which the story is set.” Wei Shujun