An acrylic painting on wood panel, titled 'Suzhou River', of a young woman in a patterned dress blowing up while holding a lit roman candle.

Suzhou River

(2000, Lou Ye)

So excited to finally cover this movie! It has been one of my favorites for many years. The depicted atmosphere of China was so gritty and noir-esque yet so romantically captivating. THIS movie prepared me for life in China. In reality, a lot of China's cities are new and fancy but there are always back alleyways littered with character around on every corner. The grit is still alive and well. This movie also turned me onto the acting careers of Jia Hongsheng and Zhou Xun. Zhou Xun’s performances always blow me away but her role in this film was particularly special, doubling as the vodka dealer’s young daughter, Moudan, and the more romantically-experienced club dancer, Meimei. It’s hard to describe the plot further since it’s a trip. Definitely give this one a shot if you want to try great Chinese cinema!


A close-up screenshot from the movie 'Suzhou River' of a young woman with blonde hair (played by Zhou Xun). An animated gif of a scene from the film 'Suzhou River' of a blonde mermaid sitting on some steps that lead down into a grungy river. She is happily swaying her tail in the water. A screenshot of a young woman in a red jumpsuit waving a mermaid doll in the face of her motorcycle taxi driver. From the Chinese movie 'Suzhou River'.

© 2000 - Coproduction Office