[yasr_overall_rating]
An ex cop and his ex partner decide to follow up on investigation of a series of murders that ended their careers and shamed them, when identical murders begin again.
Over the past few years I have become a big fan of Asian cinema. As more and more of the movies I began reviewing were coming from China, South Korea and Japan, they opened up my mind to a genre I had never really given a fair chance to and I have come to truly appreciate them. That being said however, while many of them have been absolutely breathtaking, some, like “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” start out with a good premise only to gradually grow tiresome and redundant.
Body parts have been appearing at coal plants all across the country and the police have no idea who is doing the killings and for a long time, are also unable to identify many of the corpses. Detective Zhang Zili (Liao Fan) and his partner wind up on the case but it is Zhang who begins to put the puzzle together. After the authorities are able to establish the identities of two of the dismembered corpses, Zhang is able to trace them back to their only living spouse, the beautiful but mysterious Wu Zhizhen (Gwei Lun-Mei).
While interviewing her, he discovers that she was married several times and that her husbands all mysteriously died. While trying to do his job, he falls for her and it becomes apparent very quickly, that someone is following him. In order to find out who his shadow is, he must stay one step ahead of them and this forces him to dig deeper into Wu Zhizhen’s past, which leads to yet another unsolved murder. The movie is exquisitely shot and takes its time developing the story and the characters and while this is initially effective, it eventually becomes the film’s undoing.
Once the primary mystery is resolved, instead of wrapping everything up, director Diao Yinan decides to let the film drag on and introduces yet another unsolved murder and this is where the movie begins to lose any traction that was effectively realized early on. While cinematographer Dong Jingsong creates pristine yet visceral visuals set against a bleak winter backdrop, this one element is the only constant from beginning to end. And that is a shame because with the origins of a very intriguing story, it sadly begins to decompose, much like the corpses on display.
Available now on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD
