This is a genre film with a core statement. The character of Lao Ma originally came from an episode of the TV program Legal Report (Jinri Shuofa). I have always believed that the more serious the subject, the more approachable the treatment should be, so the film has many local humorous characters and plot points. In the story, singing and dancing are the most effective way for people in Northeast China to resist absurdity and the system: whatever happens, life goes on. This is their earthy, stubborn cool, and it is the humour and optimism the film wants to show.
In 1995, a girl is raped and murdered in Santaihe, a small town at the edge of the forest in Northeast China. Lao Ma, a footprint identification expert about to retire, examines the scene with his apprentice Zhang Zhijun, a detective who has just graduated. Using his skill at reading footprints, Lao Ma finds a faint half print of a size 43 Liberation shoe. The police soon search Santaihe for a suspect who wears size 43 Liberation shoes, and Zhang Zhijun quickly identifies a suspect: Brother Bao, who runs a video hall. Under the principle of swift and severe punishment, Brother Bao is soon executed. Just after the police hold a celebration, an almost identical case occurs, again with a size 43 Liberation shoe. The victim is the daughter of local hunter Cheng Baojun. This time the police search every entertainment venue in Santaihe, determined to find hard evidence and the real killer, while Lao Ma is ordered to retire early for his failure on the case. For Lao Ma, who had never had a blemish on his record, this becomes his greatest regret. Resentful of the humiliation his mentor has suffered, Zhang Zhijun is determined to clear Lao Ma's name and vows to track down the killer using the criminal investigation techniques he has learned. The police raids on every entertainment venue in town spread fear, and no one in town goes out to sing or dance anymore. Qiao San, Brother Bao's underling who ran the video hall, can no longer collect protection money and is unhappy. He decides to do something. After some hesitation, he makes a bold decision: he will catch the killer himself. With no experience at all, and inspired by Meimei, a KTV hostess, he uses methods from the films shown in the video hall to search for the killer. So a policeman and a small-time hoodlum, with different motives and different methods, look for the killer. They gradually begin to work together, drawing closer to and then away from a truth that is within reach...
Genre:
Crime, MysteryDirector:
Leng XianhuiScreenwriter:
Leng XianhuiProducer:
Zhu ZhongyuanIn 1995, a teenage girl is raped and murdered in Santaihe, a small forest-edge town in Heilongjiang. The police and a gang both set out to hunt the killer, and a story of love and hate unfolds... Fifteen years later, the truth is unexpected...