Shot on silty 16mm film to give a look that feels dredged from the churning waters that are so central to the story, this striking Chinese neo-noir goes all out on murky atmosphere. The setting is rural southern China in the 1990s, and this slow-burning policier captures the texture of a world poised on the brink of change. Detective Inspector Ma Zhe (Yilong Zhu) has much on his mind. His wife (Chloe Maayan) is pregnant with their first child, but a series of murders near the river in a local village is consuming his attention, at work and after. Then there’s the worry of his missing merit certificate, requested by a boss who won’t let the matter slide.

Offbeat flashes of humour punctuate this stylishly enigmatic, Jean-Pierre Melville-inspired crime picture, but the momentum flags a little in a convoluted final act.

• In UK and Irish cinemas