The film orbits the stunning central performance from Zhao Tao (the director’s long-time collaborator), who plays Qiao, the girlfriend of small-time mobster Bin (Liao Fan). When Qiao is jailed for committing a crime to save Bin, she longs to leave prison and be reunited with her lover. But she soon discovers that time does not stand still on the outside. 

Punctuated by a bloody street brawl and a fantastically surprising use of the Village People’s ‘YMCA’, this is a mesmerising noir on an enormous canvas. 

“This is one of Zhangke's peak achievements: pure cinema, and a story of the underworld unlike anything you've seen before.” – MICHAEL PHILLIPS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE