Suzhou River (2000) - Chinese Movie Review

Erik, the Asian Movie Enthusiast presents:

A review of “Suzhou River”, a Chinese drama/romance from 2000.

The movie opens with narration from a man who is a videographer who is hired by a night club to shoot their “mermaid show”, which is basically some girls in mermaid outfits who jump and swim in a big fish tank – the purpose of which is to attract customers. One of these actresses is a young woman by the name of Meimei (played by Zhou Xun). Our narrator quickly falls for her but her personality is a bit odd. She’s quirky and will cometimes get sad for no apparent reason; she also disappears for days on end, leaving our narrator in suspense until her return.

After we get a feel for these lovebirds, the narrator tells the story of another character – a deliveryman named Mardar who falls in love with a girl named Moudan (also played by Zhou Xun). The problem is that this deliveryman is involved with some shady people, which eventually creates a rift between the two lovebirds.

A mysterious art-house film with a great performance by Zhou Xun.