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Suzhou River

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Ye Lou
Directed by: Ye Lou
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 8, 2000
DVD: September 11, 2001
Running Time: 83 minutes, Color
Origin: China / Germany
Summary
RATING: Not rated
Starring Xun Zhou, Hongshen Jia, Anlian Yao, An Nai, and Zhongkai Hua
Marda (Jia), a motorcycle courier becomes obsessed with a beautiful young girl named Moudan (Zhou), whom he falls in love with only to lose her in a botched kidnap attempt to gain money from her wealthy father. Moudan jumps into the murky waters of the Suzhou River and becomes lost forever. Marda is sentenced for three years, but upon his return he meets MeiMei (Zhou), an identical look-alike whom he suspects is actually Moudan, or is she? (Strand Releasing)
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
A waterlogged little jewel of a Chinese movie that you must rush out and see at once or else.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Suzhou River might be more pulpy than profound, but it still sings its old song better than we've heard in years.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Seems deeply influenced by American film noir, the Western fairy tale (in this case, mermaids) and the works of Alfred Hitchcock in particular.
Washington Post Desson Thomson
A Chinese film whose simple surface belies greater mysteries.
Read Full Review >Variety David Rooney
A compelling story of love and obsession whose progress mirrors the sinuous flow of the Shanghai waterway that supplies its title.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Daring and edgy, it's a German co-production (critical for avoiding censorship) that's filled with the intoxicating excitement of creating images for the screen.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
This intriguing film is the best variation on "Vertigo" since Brian DePalma's far more polished "Obsession" (1976), which ranks with the best Hitchcock knockoffs of all time.
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
The film is energized by the naturalness of its characters and the way in which it plays a game of mixed signals and double illusions.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
This offbeat Chinese production is at once an innovative art film, a traditional suspense yarn, and a moody voyage through Shanghai's gritty back roads.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Casts a dreamy romantic spell that lingers pleasantly in the mind for a long time after experiencing it.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
This Asian-flavored Hitchcock is a complicated tale with no easy answers.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Mr. Lou lets it play on for too long. Suzhou River offers impeccable attitude and captivating atmosphere, but little emotional or intellectual impact.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Has more atmosphere than it does coherence; it's a series of floating tricks and gambits in search of a resolution. Even so, Ye's ''Vertigo'' fever is contagious.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
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.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
A ghost story that's shot as though it were a documentary -- and a documentary that feels like a dream. Almost too fashionable for its own good.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Yoon C. gave it a 6:
Incomprehensible and amateurish movie which after sometime inspired only one thought: that woman aint much of a looker.
