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Only the River Flows

Play trailer Poster for Only the River Flows 2024 1h 41m Drama Crime Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
85% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
1990s small town China. A woman's body washes up in the local river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, is tasked with heading up the investigation. An obvious perp leads to a hasty arrest, though the mystery lingers in Ma Zhe's mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here? Director Wei Shujun's murky throwback film noir, gritty, textured film grain captures the pulpy proceedings. Torrents of rain envelop the characters as they descend into madness in pursuit of the truth. Equal parts atmospheric tour-de-force and beguiling puzzler, Only the River Flows is a masterfully styled ode to a bygone cinematic era and a sharp-edged portrait of provincial paranoia. The film, starring Zhu Yilong, is based on Yu Hua's popular short novel Mistakes by the River.
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Only the River Flows

Only the River Flows

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Critics Consensus

Drenched in atmosphere and riveting even as its procedural plotline gets subsumed within a surreal headspace, Only the River Flows is a startling showcase for leading man Zhu Yilong.

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Critics Reviews

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Tom Charity Sight & Sound Dec 19, 2025
Despite the film’s absurdist streak, there’s no mistaking its subversive edge, and comparisons to Bong Joon Ho’s Memories of Murder, and Mother, are clearly on point. Go to Full Review
Philip De Semlyen Time Out Sep 11, 2024
4/5
The pre-cellphone, pre-internet setting is a satisfying time capsule back to an era when on-screen detectives worked on hunches and their wits. In this enigmatic tale, they may not be enough. Go to Full Review
Mark Kermode Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube) Aug 20, 2024
It was really atmospheric, melancholic, and visually arresting... Go to Full Review
Dave Golder Radio Times Jun 11, 2025
4/5
Shot on 16mm film, the result is a highly cinematic and subversive exploration of order and disorder, where the film-making breaks all the rules of the genre it draws on. Go to Full Review
Rob Thomas Capital Times (Madison, WI) Oct 25, 2024
3/4
“Only The River Flows” reminded me of David Fincher’s “Zodiac” in the way it provides both the thrill of a police procedural while denying us the catharsis of a resolution. Go to Full Review
Michael Wood London Review of Books Oct 7, 2024
Wei is not going to tell us, but he invites us to think that the answer to our question may lie neither in probable history nor in fantasy but in absurdist philosophy or certain modes of detective fiction. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Tina H @SunnyHelianthus Jun 28, 2026 I honestly have no idea what is going on during a large portion of the movie. Some things make absolutely no sense. The protagonist breaks into random buildings, stares at random photos on a film projector, and fights with his wife to abort his child, etc. Plot points are poorly developed. It flows like a poorly written screenplay based on a large novel. Choppy. The cinematography was pretty neat. That's about all I can really say. See more
Jens B @Jens97 Jul 22, 2025 "Only the River Flows" captures the eye from the very beginning: Grainy 16mm Kodak Vision3 images vividly capture the foggy, cold village atmosphere. Overall, the microcosm of characters and motifs is very elegantly staged and leaves you wanting more. It's just a shame that nothing happens story-wise. Don't get me wrong; I like slow-paced, atmospheric crime dramas. But this one really bored me at times. See more
Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 18, 2025 Failure in 1 hour and 41 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more
Dmitry N @RT40813500 Sep 5, 2024 The plot becomes a bit incoherent in the second half, and cinematographic allusions are perhaps overabundant, but the visuals are stunning throughout, and the characters are believable. See more
patrick b @RT52522029 Sep 2, 2024 I didn't see what most others saw about this plodding film noir.First of all.this uber- genre of crime procedurals has been done to death (every pun intended) and this was a self consciously dour example of this - hence the 16mm.'effect'.Effects do not the film make although.most critics think so.It just looked cheap to.me.It was full of stereo types , the weary chain smoking detective.could have been Wallander or a dozen others, the loving home life (devoted pregnant wife/ life.v death stereotype.The lazy' who did it' madman in the village and the real clichéd Police Boss dim -witted/self satisfied and waiting to pick up his pension.It was a blatant.attempt 'art house.made ' for a western audience or orientalism The Chinese.who.as we know are brilliant at reproducing western products and selling them back to us.If you.want to see an authentic Chinese film that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).would choke on watch.Return.to.Dust. Pb See more
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Only the River Flows

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Cast & Crew

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Wei Shujun

Director

Yilong Zhu

Ma Zhe

Meihuizi Zeng

Bai Jie

Tianlai Hou

Chief of Police

Tong Lin Kai

Xie

Chunlei Kang

Screenwriter

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Only the River Flows

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Movie Info

Synopsis 1990s small town China. A woman's body washes up in the local river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, is tasked with heading up the investigation. An obvious perp leads to a hasty arrest, though the mystery lingers in Ma Zhe's mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here? Director Wei Shujun's murky throwback film noir, gritty, textured film grain captures the pulpy proceedings. Torrents of rain envelop the characters as they descend into madness in pursuit of the truth. Equal parts atmospheric tour-de-force and beguiling puzzler, Only the River Flows is a masterfully styled ode to a bygone cinematic era and a sharp-edged portrait of provincial paranoia. The film, starring Zhu Yilong, is based on Yu Hua's popular short novel Mistakes by the River.
Director
Wei Shujun
Producer
Xiaohui Tang, Xufeng Huang
Screenwriter
Chunlei Kang, Wei Shujun
Distributor
KimStim
Production Co
Hangzhou Dangdang Film, KXKH FILM
Genre
Drama, Crime, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 26, 2024, Limited
Runtime
1h 41m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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