Suzhou River

A film set in Shanghai. The narrator is a cameraman. His face is never seen; he films the city and describes the life along the river. He starts telling a story and does not say whether it is true. The story is this: Mardar is a courier on a motorcycle. On one job he is told to transport a young girl named Moudan. Something happens between them. Then Mardar becomes involved in a ransom scheme, and when she finds out she jumps from a bridge into the river. Years later Mardar comes out of prison and starts looking for her. In a bar he finds a woman who looks very like Moudan: her name is Meimei and she performs as a mermaid in a tank. She says she does not know him. The question is whether the two women are the same person or whether the man is seeing what he wants to see. The narrative gives no answer and the narrator is not reliable either. It was shot handheld, in low light, in real streets. Zhou Xun plays both roles. Lou Ye directed. Because it was made without official permission he was banned from filmmaking in China. An original production for anyone who likes Asian cinema and unreliable narration. For a viewer wanting a clear story, the film refuses it on purpose.