Only the River Flows” is an Asian neo-noir film adapted from a novella. The film is set in a rural town in China where serial murders take place. The lead detective in the case is Ma Zhe, who seems to find evidence that leads to different clues leading away from the actual murderer. As they delve deeper into the investigation, the cops and Ma Zhe encounter a colorful cast of characters, each grappling with their own unique challenges. In the last murder, there is a witness who points the direction toward the first suspect, the madman. By this time, Ma Zhe had exhausted himself in his career and personal life. This leads Ma Zhe to get desperate to find the killer, making him lose his mind temporarily. Ultimately, Ma Zhe gets merit for a well-done job, but at what cost?
This article contains spoilers.
Only the River Flows (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film is set in 1995, and a small boy is seen playing with a toy gun. In Peishu City, Jiandong Province, the Chief of Police informs all the cops to submit their merit reports soon. After everyone leaves, the Chief informs Ma Zhe, the Captain, that a movie theatre is closing as people don’t visit it anymore. The theatre will become Ma Zhe’s workplace, and he can keep his investigation discreet.
In the riverside, an older woman is found murdered. Ma Zhe’s team handles the case. At the crime site, the cops find out that the woman’s name is Wang Fengxia, also known as Granny Four by the locals. The cops also find a woman’s handbag near Granny Four, which they take as evidence. A young boy has discovered the body after dark.
How many people do the cops suspect?
It seems Granny Four has adopted a madman after her husband’s death. The neighbors believe the madman has never been aggressive, nor has he spoken much. The problem is that the madman comes and goes into town as he pleases, so the villagers don’t know where he is. At the movie theatre, after some trial and error, the cops realize the murderer is strongly built, and the murder weapon is heavy. Ma Zhe finds a tape from the evidence bag and starts listening to the music.
Soon, Ma Zhe hears that the madman is found, so he rushes to the river, asking Xie to analyze the cassette tape. Ma Zhe realizes the madman does not talk at all, so he is brought to the police station. Once Ma Zhe arrives at the movie theatre, Xie is eager for Ma Zhe to listen to the tape. In the audiotape, a woman addresses someone named Hong, tells him about her secret, and confesses that she misses Hong. In the background, we hear the sound of trains passing by.
After narrowing down the locations, Ma Zhe and the team find the woman in the tape. The woman is an accountant at a factory, and her name is Qian Ling. The cops find Qian Ling at a poetry reading event and take her to the police station. There, Qian Ling says she saw Granny Four’s body, got scared, and ran away. The cops want to know who Hong is, but Qian Ling refuses to tell them.
Suddenly, Hong comes to the police station and says he and Qian Ling were supposed to meet by the river. Since Hong had arrived late, Qian Ling had to leave. Hong says that, on that day, he saw a woman with wavy hair wearing a textile worker’s uniform running away. Eventually, Hong agrees to cooperate if the cops can keep Qian Ling and Hong’s relationship a secret from their families.
What secret is Xu Liang hiding?
When the cops arrive at the factory, they learn that only the hairdresser, Xu Liang, left work early that day. However, the timing still does not match the time of Granny Four’s death. When Ma Zhe starts questioning Xu Liang, he asks Ma Zhe to arrest him as he is sure the cops will eventually get to him. On the day of the murder, Xu Liang was at the murder scene to fish and was alone.
Even though Xu Liang asks to be arrested, Ma Zhe refuses to do so. Meanwhile, the Chief of police asks Ma Zhe to bring Ma Zhe’s grade three merit certificate, which he received in Yunnan. Ma Zhe is looking for the certificate at home but cannot find it. That night, Hong dies in the same manner as Granny Four. In Hong’s pocket, the cops find a love letter addressed to Qian Ling.
So the cops arrive at Qian Ling’s house and give the letter to her. There, they discover that Qian Ling was supposed to meet Hong that day but was not allowed to leave the house. Meanwhile, Ma Zhe and his pregnant wife are joyous as expectant parents. The chief of police thinks the case is closed, and the killer is the madman. However, Ma Zhe believes there is more to the murders and wants to investigate further. Later, Ma Zhe interrogates all the textile workers who have wavy hair.
When Ma Zhe tries to talk to Xu Lian, he asks to be arrested and close the case. Much later, the cops head to the hospital as Xu Liang has swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills. When Ma Zhe and the team check Xu Liang’s house, they see women’s clothing and makeup. Here, Ma Zhe realizes that Xu Liang is probably a cross-dresser or a trans person. Now, Ma Zhe understands why Xu Liang wanted to be arrested.
Only the River Flows (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Why does Ma Zhe want to resign?
Bad news awaits Ma Zhe as he and his wife get to know that their baby has an incurable genetic defect. At home, Ma Zhe and his wife argue whether to keep the child or not. Meanwhile, the madman has escaped from the mental hospital. At the same time, there is another murder of a small boy. This time, there is a witness who is sure that it is the madman who killed the child. So Ma Zhe heads to Granny Four’s house, waiting for the madman to arrive. The superiors are annoyed as the madman has escaped, especially after the case has been closed. At the movie theatre, Xu Liang arrives to thank Ma Zhe for saving his life.
When Ma Zhe leaves the theatre, Xu Liang, dressed as a woman, falls from the building, killing himself. Suddenly, we see the young boy talking to the madman before he is killed. In the next scene, we see Granny Four accepting her death as the madman kills her. Then we see a movie about Hong and Qian Ling. At some point, Ma Zhe falls asleep and dreams about these incidents. Ma Zhe is losing his mind in pursuit of the madman, so he submits his resignation. The police chief refuses to accept the resignation, asking for a reason. So Ma Zhe says it’s because his wife is pregnant, but that isn’t a good enough reason.
Did Ma Zhe kill the madman?
After the conversation with the police chief, Ma Zhe asks Xie to be in charge of the case. After that, Ma Zhe heads back home. Ma Zhe spends quality time with his wife there, reminiscing about their young, carefree days. Now that Ma Zhe is giving his attention to his pregnant wife, they go to a photo studio to take some pictures. Another client arrives, and Ma Zhe sees the madman in those pictures. Later, Ma Zhe eats at a restaurant where he hears the madman laugh at something. As Ma Zhe walks home, he sees the madman following him. When Ma Zhe pulls his gun out, the madman disappears.
So, Ma Zhe chases the madman and kills him. The next day, Ma Zhe informs the chief of police that he has killed the madman. When Ma Zhe takes his gun out, all the bullets are still inside. So the police chief asks Ma Zhe to leave his gun, return home, and rest. Later, Ma Zhe goes to the river and sees the madman at the river bank. So Ma Zhe emerges from the water, picks up a stone, and hits the madman. Later, Ma Zhe receives a grade three merit award for capturing the madman. Currently, the madman is seeking treatment at the mental hospital. Ma Zhe’s child was born one year later, and they look like a happy family.
Chasing shadows: Ma Zhe’s descent into madness
As a neo-noir film, “Only the River Flows” captures Ma Zhe’s troubles while trying to hunt a serial killer. In this film, we don’t see the motive for the crimes nor many clues, yet it is obvious who the killer is. However, Ma Zhe slowly loses his mind because of a lack of solid evidence and a dead end. The irony isn’t subtle as Ma Zhe is chasing a madman and goes through a spiraling down. Ma Zhe is so involved and tired of the case that he dreams about the way the murders could have taken place.
Ma Zhe killing the madman multiple times in his hallucinations can also be metaphorical in the sense that Ma Zhe is desperate to catch the killer and finish the case. The missing certificate of the grade merit is a fascinating part of the story, as Ma Zhe eventually gets the merit for catching the madman in the serial killer case. This could also be that Ma Zhe was desperate about wanting to get that merit for his work in the police force, which he eventually gets, even if it means losing his mind over it.
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