When it comes to oblique storytelling, it’s easy to fall into the trap of just, well, nonsense.
And that’s what I was worried about when I went into Wei Shujun’s Chinese noir procedural, Only the River Flows – the reviews I’d seen for it either rhapsodized about how brilliantly it handled its abstract elements, while the others were frustrated by the lack of answers the story offered.
Set in the mid-nineties, it follows police captain Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong) as he invetigates a series of bizarre murders taking place along a river in a small, rural town. And what starts as a relatively straightforward, rain-soaked procedural soon dips into the downright bizarre (though still rain-soaked).
And, regardless of what you make of the stranger elements of this story, Only the River Flows is still very much worth a watch just for the sheer strength of filmmaking on display here. Shot on film, the movie is rich with a distinct noir atmosphere; Shujun uses these long, static takes that invite you to study every inch of the production design and every micro-expression on the face of everyone on screen. A bold move, but one that’s supported by a truly brilliant cast (especially the central Yilong – an unmoored, disturbed turn that swings between competent and barely cognizant) that make really engaging with those long takes worthwhile, an absorbing, unique directorial style that speaks to Shujun’s confidence behind the camera.
The camera grows more unsteady as things begin to unravel, and yes, this is the kind of movie that demands you string together some answers of your own; an approach that’s not for everyone, nor is it particularly easy to pull off without coming across as either out of control of your story or just downright refusing to give it to us straight.
But I think ultimately what makes Only the River Flows such an impactful and memorable feature for me is not just how oblique and abstract it is in its storytelling – but that it makes unpicking the nuances of this narrative a genuinely compelling prospect. I’ve seen so many stories shoot for this level of abstraction and land somewhere in the weeds of frustrating, confusing, and boring, but Wei Shujun has such a command of cinematic language and storytelling techniques as to make this a rich tapestry to unpick instead of a temple-rubbing headache. It’s a movie that I’ve been coming back to over and over again since I saw it, trying to piece it all together and make sense of it, because I actually want to know what was happening here – and that’s a credit to the direction, acting, and screenwriting alike.
This isn’t an easy movie, but it’s a rewarding one, and a pleasure to watch from a filmmaking perspective regardless of whether the story works for you. One of the films of the year so far, Only the River Flows brings a new meaning to the term bizarre-noir.
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via Medium)
No But Listen 