Only the River Flows is a compelling film moulded in the stylish trappings of classic noirs, but its lacking screenplay tells a frustratingly empty story.
Director: Wei Shujun
Genre: Crime, Drama, Noir
Run Time: 101′
UK & Irish Release: August 16, 2024
US Release: July 26, 2024
Where to Watch: in UK & Irish cinemas, in select US theaters
Filmmaker Wei Shujin had his first film, a short by the name of On the Border, screened at Cannes in 2018. His latest feature-length release, Only the River Flows, was screened at the 76th edition of the same festival—now the fourth time Wei has had a film there—as it was shown in the Un Certain Regard section. The genre Only the River Flows differs from his previous two features, Striding into the Wind and Ripples of Life, as it takes us on a journey through the dark and dreary setting of Banpo Town in the 1990s.
It is an undoubtedly stylish film noir, shot with the thrilling graininess of 16mm film, but Wei’s film is ultimately unfulfilling.
In the same way as many classic film noirs or neo-noirs begin, Only the River Flows starts with the discovery of a woman’s body in a river. It is up to Ma Zhe (an understated but mesmerising Zhu Yilong, Lost in the Stars) to lead the case; in fact, he quickly makes an arrest, something which pleases his superiors. What follows is an intriguing descent into madness, obsession, and isolation, as Ma Zhe begins to doubt whether the arrest was correct and becomes embroiled with the secret behaviours of other villagers.
It’s an alluring premise, and the initial ambiguity to Only the River Flows is welcome. Unfortunately, the screenplay is too lacking in depth to ever strengthen into something more; the film positions itself as something thrilling and mysterious, but the former never occurs, and the latter slowly fizzles out despite initial promise. Zhu’s performance sums the film up: sullen, slow, restrained. The fact that Zhu creates something relatively compelling out of so little to work with is impressive, as he captures the tortured detective persona of Ma Zhe superbly.
Where Only the River Flows shines is in its visuals and atmosphere. Similarly to the late Wang Bing’s epic and bleak masterpiece An Elephant Sitting Still (2018), Wei’s film concocts a grim vision of society via flowing camerawork and twanging score. Chengma Zhiyuan’s (Fire on the Plain) expert cinematography and Zhang Menglun’s (The Shadow Play) detailed production design eke out all the darkest depths of Banpo Town’s scenery. Lights struggle through shadows whilst rain pours relentlessly and without warning. Only the River Flows is never anything but fully committed to its noirish groundings.
Memories of Murder (2003) and Zodiac (2007) are two of the best examples of films that capture a detective’s descent into madness via an inescapable obsession with a murder case. Only the River Flows matches both for visual style and atmosphere, but the descent is too protracted and thin whilst the thematic commentaries never coalesce. Wei hints at something interesting about the robotic nature of society in 1990s China, but never substantially.
The central crime and mystery itself is dull and rote, especially in comparison to those greats. It seems to have been sacrificed for the sole concentration on style. The real mystery is that there might be something buried underneath the stylish spectacle of Only the River Flows. Repeat viewings may help, but equally they could merely compound the emptiness.
Only the River Flows will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on August 16, 2024.
