Suzhou River

Suzhou River (Chinese: 苏州河; pinyin: Sūzhōu Hé) is a 2000 Chinese romance film written and directed by Lou Ye, a tragic love story set in contemporary Shanghai. The film, though stylistically distinct, is typical of "Sixth Generation" Chinese filmmakers in its subject matter of contemporary China's gritty urban experience. Co-produced by the German Essential Films and China's Dream Factory, the film stars Zhou Xun in a dual role as two different women and Jia Hongsheng as a man obsessed with finding a woman from his past. Ye's second film, Suzhou River takes as its background the chaotically built-up riverside architecture of factory buildings and abandoned warehouses along the Suzhou River, rather than the glitzy new face of Shanghai. Though well-received abroad, Suzhou River was not screened in its native China, as Ye was banned from filmmaking for two years after screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam without permission from Chinese authorities. It is now authorized in China.