International Premiere | In Competition | White Mulberry Award Candidate
China, 2025, 108’, Mandarin
Directed by: Li Yongyi
Screenplay: Wen Jin
Cinematography (color): Cheng Ma
Editing: Li Yongyi
Art Direction: Wang Yanhui
Production Design: Zhao Shouyi
Music: Han Hong
Action Design: Fu Xiaojie
Producer: Jiang Yuxia, Bi Ran, Long Meishan, Wu Xinxin, Luo Chao
Executive Producers: Shi Ge, An Ran, Ma Jiarui
Production Company: Beijing Helios Film, Co., Ltd.
Cast: Qiao Shan (Yao Sichen), Wang Yuanhui (Ge Wenyong), Yang Zishan (Yan Xue), Pan Binlong (Yang Zhaowei), Yu Xiyue (Yang Ge), Jia Bing (Zhang Changchun)
Date of Rirst Release in Territory: TBA
Li Yongyi, the phenomenally talented editor behind of some of Zhang Yimou’s most recent films, makes his directorial debut with this noir, as stylistically sophisticated as you might expect from someone who honed his craft under the tutelage of the great master. The setting is rural China in the 1990s, where, beneath the surface of a sleepy, peaceful society, lies a complex and unsettling reality. The story begins with the image of a young couple smiling joyously on their wedding day. In the next scene, set several years later, the couple are furiously arguing. The man collapses to the ground unconscious, and the woman flees in a passing truck. In the following scene, we see the woman stabbing an unconscious man while another man laughs as he photographs the scene. This is the premise of a story presented as if based on a true crime, filled with murders, blackmail, corruption, envy, but also courage and determination.
The main character is Yao Sichen, a low-ranking police officer, played with surprising conviction by Qiao Shan, an actor best known for comedy roles (such as YOLO, FEFF 2024, City of Rock, FEFF 2017). In this thriller, he portrays a complex character: obsessive, sensitive, but deeply honest. Yao was a detective, but was demoted to checking goods vehicles at a checkpoint on the provincial road after chasing a woman who reminded him of a fugitive the police had been hunting for years. He was in his underwear when he saw her pass by the window and didn’t have time to get dressed. Despite no longer having a mind-consuming job, Yao can’t find peace and continues to think about unsolved missing persons cases.
With the new market economy, the flow of goods in even the most remote areas of China has increased, as has banditry: there are frequent cases of trucks loaded with goods that disappear as if swallowed whole by the mountains. When a truck driven by a friend of Yao’s – a kind man who tried his hand at starting a business but lost everything and, terminally ill, began transporting goods to avoid his family being too indebted after his death – disappears without a trace, the man’s daughter turns to Yao for help. Yao, without a badge or anything that proves he’s a law enforcer besides a pair of handcuffs, finds himself searching for the truck driver in a village that represents a microcosm of the chaos that was China in that period.
The culprit – whose identity we know from the beginning of the film – is an intelligent man who manipulates the people he encounters, particularly the village’s notables: the party secretary, the head of public security, and the administrator, who are all busy with preparations for the imminent arrival of the municipal inspector, who is in a position to make promotions. Their thoughts are focused solely on personal gain rather than the well-being of the community. Over the course of a long night, Yao must unravel a web of intrigue, filled with tragicomic characters, misunderstandings, mistaken identities, plot twists and psychological manipulations. Some characters seem to have emerged from surreal revolutionary iconography, while others are more complex, but their interactions result in disastrous outcomes, putting Yao’s determination to the test.
Despite the film’s predominantly pessimistic tone, the film is peppered with moments of levity, of scenes that verge on comedy. The refined cinematography perfectly marries the narrative, which constructs a tale in which crime, absurdity, and comic moments blend together into a problematic portrait of a society in transition.
GUEST:
LI Yongyi, director
YU Xiyue, actress
CHENG MA Zhyyuan, cinematographer
Li Yongy
Li Yongyi has been a film editor since 2007, working with numerous directors, including Ning Hao and Cao Baoping. He also worked on the film adaptation of the science fiction masterpiece
The Three-Body Problem. Since 2019, he has been Zhang Yimou’s go-to editor, working on many of the great director’s recent films:
Cliff Walkers,
Snipers,
Full River Red,
Under the Light,
Article 20, and the editing revision of
One Second. He was nominated for Best Editing at the 31st China’s Golden Rooster Awards for
The Dead End, won Best Editing at the 15th Asian Film Awards for
Cliff Walkers, and was nominated for Best Editing at the 35th China’s Golden Rooster Awards for
Snipers.
Deep in the Mountain is his directorial debut.
FILMOGRAPHY
2025 – Deep in the Mountain