Based on Yu Hua’s novel Mistakes by the River, Wei Shujun’s Only the River Flows is a bleak and atmospheric tour-de-force neo-noir, which is laced with gallows humor and touches of the surreal. 

After police investigator Ma Zhe’s (Zhu Yilong) district moves their office into a closed cinema, a woman known as Granny Four is found dead on the banks of a river near a small town in southern China. What first appears to be an open-and-shut case turns out to be only the first layer of an ever-deepening mystery, as Ma’s inquiry reveals the hidden life of the rural community.  

Once a prime suspect is found and his superiors hurry to congratulate him, several clues push Ma Zhe to expand his investigation into the hidden behavior of his fellow citizens. Ma doggedly follows the evidence trail, and the discovery of a handbag found by the body sends him off on another tangent. However, potential suspects keep coming forward voluntarily, motivated to present their point of view before they are found and fed into the procedural grinder. They all acknowledge that to become a person of interest in such a case means they will simply be steamrollered by the state.  

While Ma Zhe appears genuinely committed to uncovering the truth rather than seeking a convenient scapegoat, the rising body count suggests that his investigation might be creating more chaos rather than clarity. The situation is further complicated by troubling personal news for Ma and his wife, putting his personal life in jeopardy. 

As dream sequences intrude and reality begins to blur, the relentless rain adds to the film’s intense atmosphere. Only the River Flows masterfully blends 1940s Hollywood style with contemporary Chinese life, crafting a murder mystery that challenges perceptions of truth in our complex modern society.