Athens International Film Festival
aiff

ONLY THE RIVER FLOWS | HE BIAN DE CUO WU


CHINA | 2023 | COLOR | DCP | 102’ | MANDARIN

A detective in ‘90s rural China tries to solve a series of increasingly inexplicable murders. And, yes, the plot which looks like another whodunit could not be further from the world of this film by (unbelievably 32-year-old) Wei, who we saw as promising in ‘Striding into the Wind’ at AIFF three years ago and now he has amazingly fulfilled these promises, bringing about exciting hope. Cinema that converses with Bong Joon Ho and David Lynch, cinema of advanced mise en scene of details, of a tone that reveals a master behind the camera, and of a pervasive melancholy among the associations that escapes rationalism, leading it to the land of great cinema. I.D.

DIRECTOR: Wei Shujun
SCREENWRITERS: Kang Chunlei, Wei Shujun
DoP: Chengma
EDITOR: Mattieu Laclau
PRINCIPAL CAST: Zhu Yilong, Chloe Maayan, Jou Tianlai, Tong Linkai

WEI SHUJUN 
Director and screenwriter born in Beijing, where he studied Sound Engineering. He was an actor at 14, also a rapper and his first short film received Special Jury Distinction at Cannes 2018. He is the only post-90s born Chinese director who has been selected three times at Cannes. A brilliant, impressively mature talent.

FILMOGRAPHY
2023
Only the River Flows
2021 Ripples of Life
2020 Striding into the Wind
2018 On the Border



        : Opening Nights

        PAST LIVES (Opening Film)

        PAST LIVES (Opening Film)

        29/09/2023, 22:15, DANAOS 1

        STRANGE WAY OF LIFE | EXTRAÑA FORMA DE VIDA (Opening Film)

        STRANGE WAY OF LIFE | EXTRAÑA FORMA DE VIDA (Opening Film)

        03/10/2023, 21:30, IDEAL

        THE BOY AND THE HERON | KIMITACHI WA DŌ IKIRU (Closing Film)

        THE BOY AND THE HERON | KIMITACHI WA DŌ IKIRU (Closing Film)

        07/10/2023, 20:00, ATHENS CONCERT HALL (AL.TRIANTI VENUE)

        SILVER HAZE

        SILVER HAZE

        28/09/2023, 19:30, IDEAL
        07/10/2023, 18:00, IDEAL

        RESTORE POINT | BOD OBNOVY

        RESTORE POINT | BOD OBNOVY

        28/09/2023, 20:00, ASTY
        08/10/2023, 19:30, ASTY

        SUBTRACTION | TAFRIGH

        SUBTRACTION | TAFRIGH

        28/09/2023, 22:00, DANAOS 1
        07/10/2023, 19:00, DANAOS 1

        PUAN

        PUAN

        29/09/2023, 17:00, DANAOS 1
        07/10/2023, 17:00, DANAOS 1

        FREMONT

        FREMONT

        29/09/2023, 21:30, ASTY
        01/10/2023, 19:15, ASTOR

        WHICH COLOUR? | KAYO KAYO COLOUR?

        WHICH COLOUR? | KAYO KAYO COLOUR?

        30/09, 17.30, ASTY
        02/10, 18.00, ΑSTY

        THE NATURE OF LOVE | SIMPLE COMME SYLVAIN

        THE NATURE OF LOVE | SIMPLE COMME SYLVAIN

        30/09/2023, 20:00, DANAOS 1

        MAY DECEMBER

        MAY DECEMBER

        30/09/2023, 22:30, DANAOS 1

        THE BEAST | LA BÊTE

        THE BEAST | LA BÊTE

        01/10/2023, 21:30, ASTOR

        PRETTY RED DRESS

        PRETTY RED DRESS

        01/10/2023, 21:45, ASTY
        08/10/2023, 19:45, DANAOS 1

        SHAYDA

        SHAYDA

        01/10/2023, 21:45, DANAOS 1

        STORY AVE

        STORY AVE

        01/10/2023, 22:30, IDEAL
        04/10/2023, 17:30, DANAOS 1

        LAST SUMMER | L'ÉTÉ DERNIER

        LAST SUMMER | L'ÉTÉ DERNIER

        02/10/2023, 19:30, ΙDEAL

        WHEN WILL IT BE LIKE IT NEVER WAS BEFORE | WANN WIRD ES ENDLICH WIEDER SO, WIE ES NIE WAR

        WHEN WILL IT BE LIKE IT NEVER WAS BEFORE | WANN WIRD ES ENDLICH WIEDER SO, WIE ES NIE WAR

        02/10/2023, 19:30, DANAOS 1
        06/10/2023, 17:45, DANAOS 1

        CREATURA

        CREATURA

        02/10/2023, 21:45, ΙDEAL
        07/10/2023, 20:00, ASTY

        CLUB ZERO

        CLUB ZERO

        03/10/2023, 19:00, DANAOS 1

        THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE | DAS LEHRERZIMMER

        THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE | DAS LEHRERZIMMER

        04/10/2023, 19:30, DANAOS 1

        ABOUT DRY GRASSES / KURU OTLAR ÜSTÜNE

        ABOUT DRY GRASSES / KURU OTLAR ÜSTÜNE

        04/10/2023, 20:00, ASTOR
        08/10/2023, 18:00, ASTOR

        FEMME

        FEMME

        04/10/2023, 22.00, ΙDEAL
        07/10/2023, 22.30, ΑSTY

        MEMORY

        MEMORY

        05/10/2023, 19:30, IDEAL

        DREAM SCENARIO

        DREAM SCENARIO

        05/10/2023, 22:00, DANAOS 1

        THE (EX)PERIENCE OF LOVE | LE SYNDROME DES AMOURS PASSÉES

        THE (EX)PERIENCE OF LOVE | LE SYNDROME DES AMOURS PASSÉES

        06/10/2023, 20:00, DANAOS 1

        PLAYLAND

        PLAYLAND

        06/10/2023, 22:00, ASTY
        08/10/2023, 22:00, ASTY

        PRISCILLA

        PRISCILLA

        06/10/2023, 22:00, IDEAL

        RED ISLAND | L'ÎLE ROUGE

        RED ISLAND | L'ÎLE ROUGE

        07/10/2023, 20:00, ASTOR

        THE GREEN BORDER | ZIELONA GRANICA

        THE GREEN BORDER | ZIELONA GRANICA

        07/10/2023, 21:15, DANAOS 1

        THE ROYAL HOTEL

        THE ROYAL HOTEL

        07/10/2023, 22:30, ASTOR

        KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

        KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

        08/10/2023, 20.00, IDEAL

        ALL OF US STRANGERS

        ALL OF US STRANGERS

        09/10/2023, 21:00, IDEAL