Only the River Flows (He Bian de Cuo Wu)

media release: China | 2023 | DCP | 101 min. | Mandarin with English subtitles

Director: Wei Shujun

Cast: Zhu Liyong, Chloe Mayaan, Hou Tianlai

In rural China in the 1990s, a woman’s body washes ashore on a riverbank. Setting up shop in an abandoned cinema, the chief of police begins an investigation that only grows more mysterious with each suspect, clue—and additional body. Drenched in thick neo noir atmosphere and shot on tactile 16mm, this enveloping procedural justly earned comparisons to Bong Joon-ho’s classic Memories of Murder, and became one of China’s highest grossing independent films.

The Premieres series returns with more early and exclusive looks at the very best in current arthouse cinema! This fall kicks off with Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, one of the best films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, screening at the Cinematheque nearly a month before it hits theaters. For a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, don’t miss Eno, a documentary portrait about the iconic musician which is digitally reconfigured every time it screens—the version you’ll see here on October 10 will never be shown again. Plus: wild new entertainments by boundary-pushing favorites Don Hertzfeldt, Harmony Korine, and Quentin Dupieux; equally adventurous and riveting nonfiction works by Mati Diop and Johan Grimonprez, and much more! This series was made possible by a generous donation from an anonymous cinephile.