What's in the darkness

In 1991, in a small Chinese city in the countryside, several women are found murdered. A teenager, Qu Jing, becomes fascinated by the investigation led by her father, a clumsy policeman. While the film quotes the plot of Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder, it quickly takes a step aside from it to focus on the portrait of a teenager experiencing her own sexual awakening. For her debut feature, Wang Yichun navigates between a noir tale, a coming-of-age fable, and autobiographical elements, which give the film its vertiginous depth. Indeed, from the social patriarchy to men’s concupiscent gaze on the young woman, this work unfolds the notion of an evil inherent to society, one with which all women, one day or another, are confronted. (Laurence Reymond)