Only the River Flows

This special limited edition slipcover (designed by Beth Morris) is limited to 1,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them. KimStim is a Brooklyn based, full-service distribution company dedicated to the release of exceptional independent, foreign, and documentary film. Founded in 2000 by Mika Kimoto and Ian Stimler, KimStim brings to US and North American audiences selected films from around the world gleaned from the most prestigious film festivals and include top prize winners from Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, and Tribeca. When a woman’s body is discovered on the banks of a river near a small town in southern China, it’s up to police investigator Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong), working out of an abandoned cinema, to find the killer—but what at first appears to be an open-and-shut case turns out to be only the first layer of an ever deepening mystery, as Ma’s inquiry reveals the hidden life of the rural community. Based on Yu Hua’s short novel Mistakes by the River, Wei’s bleakly atmospheric tour-de-force neo-noir is laced with gallows humor and touches of the surreal, its grungy, low-contrast 16mm photography a hand in glove fit for its 1990s setting. “Visually entrancing… a mystifying gem. One of the best films at Cannes 2023.” —Frieze directed by: Wei Shujunstarring: Zhu Yilong, Chloe Maayan, Hou Tianlai2023 / 101 min / 1.85:1 / Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1 Additional info: Region A Blu-ray Trailer Interview with Wei Shujun by Panos Kotzathanasis of Asian Movie Pulse English subtitles