This film, the latest from director Li Yu, opens in dramatic fashion in 2011 with the collapse of a bridge in a (fictional) central city . As investigators try to establish how and why the bridge collapsed, they come across the skeleton of a man buried in the concrete. The man. who was one of the constructors, had allegedly run off with his girlfriend eight years earlier. And then the chief suspect falls to his death from a tall building. But did he jump or was he pushed?
The man’s daughter (postgrad student Wen Xiaoyu [Ma Sichun]) comes home for the funeral and with the assistance of a witness to the disappearance (and now himself a fugitive) Meng Chao [TFBoy Karry Wang] starts to investigate the crime.
In fact, we discover quite early on who is responsible (collapsing bridges are not really the same as an Agatha Christie murder when any one of the house guests could be responsible). But the drama lies in how the main characters will respond to the discoveries that are made.
There is much to be said for this film. It provides (yet again for director Li) a female-centred narrative; the film is appropriately rain-soaked and dark with washed out colors; and Ms. Ma is excellent in the lead role as is Chloe Mayaan in the role of Gan Xiaoyang, girlfriend of one of the bad guys and now whistle-blower/blackmailer. Fan Wei is also very believable as Xioyu’s adoptive father.
But it does not quite come together. While Ma Sichun is very good, her character never really develops in a credible manner if we compare, for example, to the main character in Sister. And while Karry Wang may have boosted ticket sales, his character’s story makes little sense and his portrayal is a pale copy of Jackson Yee in Better Days. The quasi-family which Xiaoyu and Meng Chao form with a young girl also strains credibility (though director Li tends to use similar motifs as in Buddha Mountain).
The film is another take on corruption in Chinese society but this is hardly new and (unsurprisingly) it never manages to hint at anything beyond mid-low level corruption. Even then it is set back in 2011, when bad things still happened in China.
It’s worth a watch for fans of Li Yu and/or Ma Sichun but it is not in the same class as the director’s earlier films such as Lost in Beijing or Buddha Mountain. It’s co-written by the director with her usual collaborator Fang Li (who also has small role).
The film was shot in and around Nanchong and Mianyang cities in Sichuan province. It has done well at the box office though the critical reception is lukewarm with only 6.1 on Douban.
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