A Constant Visual Feast

“Detective Ma Zhe (Yilong Zhu) wanders through the frames of Wei Shujun’s period noir Only the River Flows, smoking cigarettes like carbon monoxide is actually his oxygen, almost always bedecked in his leather coat. These are the trademark symbols of a weary cop who has worked too long and seen too much. Ma Zhe’s protective outerwear doesn’t protect him at all, of course, not even against the weather; he’s often seen shivering and  hugging himself for warmth in the cold rural nights he spends chasing a murderer.” (Full review at Paste Magazine.)