Reviews
Only The River Flows
Reviewed by Ian Payne
The film review website, Rotten Tomatoes has two categories, the 'Tomatometer' which aggregates the ratings that film critics give to the movie and the 'Popcornmeter', which records the audience response. It is rare that the two coincide, critics may mark down a film that the ordinary cinema-going audience loves – and vice versa.
Such was the case with Only the River Flows, with the critics' score a healthy 85% and the ordinary joes scoring it at 53%.
When a movie is described as film noir, there is a certain expectation, a set of tropes that are timeless; the crime itself; the world-weary detective, usually struggling with his own demons; the urban jungle with derelict buildings; a femme fatale; jeopardy for the hero and most important; a series of plot twists along the way. To paraphrase Eric Morecambe, Only the River Flows had most of the right elements but not in any coherent order.
Set in a downbeat town in 1990's China, the film scored highly on atmosphere, all crumbling buildings and driving rain. The policeman investigating the murder of 'Granny Four' by the river is troubled, under pressure and neglecting his pregnant wife. The Police Chief wants an early resolution to the case, even if it means arresting the wrong man. The murders pile up. So far, so noir but the plotline then took us into all manner of fantasy and delusion, leaving the Alhambra audience baffled.
Two critics referenced David Lynch and Twin Peaks in their commentaries but sadly this came nowhere near Lynch's brand of iconoclasm. All credit to the Director, Wei Shujun, for trying to break with convention but conventions have evolved for a reason.
The ordinary joes at Keswick were not impressed.
Such was the case with Only the River Flows, with the critics' score a healthy 85% and the ordinary joes scoring it at 53%.
When a movie is described as film noir, there is a certain expectation, a set of tropes that are timeless; the crime itself; the world-weary detective, usually struggling with his own demons; the urban jungle with derelict buildings; a femme fatale; jeopardy for the hero and most important; a series of plot twists along the way. To paraphrase Eric Morecambe, Only the River Flows had most of the right elements but not in any coherent order.
Set in a downbeat town in 1990's China, the film scored highly on atmosphere, all crumbling buildings and driving rain. The policeman investigating the murder of 'Granny Four' by the river is troubled, under pressure and neglecting his pregnant wife. The Police Chief wants an early resolution to the case, even if it means arresting the wrong man. The murders pile up. So far, so noir but the plotline then took us into all manner of fantasy and delusion, leaving the Alhambra audience baffled.
Two critics referenced David Lynch and Twin Peaks in their commentaries but sadly this came nowhere near Lynch's brand of iconoclasm. All credit to the Director, Wei Shujun, for trying to break with convention but conventions have evolved for a reason.
The ordinary joes at Keswick were not impressed.