2023 Chicago International Film Festival Movie Review: Only the River Flows

Only the River Flows is a tightly constructed crime film about a good detective who begins to lose his grip on reality when he gets too involved in a case.

Only the River Flows takes place in a rundown city in Southern China in 1995. The buildings are dilapidated, the streets are dirty, and it is always raining. An old woman, known around town as Granny Four, is murdered and the prime suspect is a homeless man with a mental disability that Granny Four has been taking care of nicknamed “Madman”. Detective Ma Zhe (Yilong Zhu) has been put in charge of the case with a task force of other officers, all of whom are trying to tie the case up as fast as possible, especially his ping-pong-loving boss.

But Ma, a good and respected detective, thinks there is more to the case than just Madman committing the murder. He looks deeper at the crime scene, finds more clues, and starts to suspect different people. Ma’s grip on the case and reality begin to waver with additional murders, suicides, and disappearances happening around him.

Director Shujun Wei crafted a gritty neo-noir. Utilizing low-light cinematography to give the film a dirty feel, the constant rain, darkness, and production design of a broken-down city, the setting feels like a character itself. And while the film starts off as a seemingly straightforward police procedural, there are layers to the case and the character’s motivations. It felt like there were sprinkles of Chinatown, Se7en, and other great neo-noirs and police procedurals throughout the film.

Zhu gives an excellent performance as Ma. He starts off strong, confident, and great at his job. You can tell he sees the world differently than his other detectives, but he isn’t a super detective like Benoit Blanc or Hercule Poirot. He looks at the smaller clues, takes his time when interviewing his suspects, and never jumps too quickly to conclusions. Zhu does a great job of portraying Ma’s mental instability as the case goes on, showing us a man who was once the best at what he did only to start to question the entire case and what he believes in.

Only the River Flows will be a bit perplexing to those who like their noirs and procedurals tied up in a nice bow. As Ma gets more confused and loses his grip on the case, the film itself starts to become a little confusing. It straightens itself out towards the film’s finale, but even that didn’t completely land for me. But thanks to the striking noir look and attitude and Zhu’s great leading performance, Only the River Flows ends up being an engrossing crime film.

Only the River Flows played in the International Competition at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

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