Suzhou River

Lou Ye's edgy feature is a little too derivative of much better movies to succeed on its own. However, in the context of recent Chinese movies, it's a pretty amazing piece of work. A clever pastiche of Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO and Wong Kar-Wai's ultra-stylish CHUNGKING EXPRESS, this dizzying romantic mystery dives into the depths of erotic obsession, and offers a surprisingly unflattering view of Shanghai as a dangerous den of thieves and reckless youth. Suzhou River is the polluted, man-made waterway that snakes through the heart of Shanghai, and it shadows this twisty tale, narrated by an unnamed and never-seen videographer. He's hired by the owner of a ...