Mystery (2012)

Directed by: Lou Ye
Country: China / France

Movie Review: “Mystery” is a Chinese dramatic thriller directed by Lou Ye whose past work is synonym of undeniable quality (“Suzhou River” and “Summer Palace”). Lately, he seems a bit lost in secondary dramas such were the cases of “Love and Bruises” and now this messy “Mystery”, where a dark love triangle ends up in murder. The film starts with a woman being run over by a car when she was already in a deplorable state. This woman was seen getting out of a hotel with Yongzhao, a married man and attentive father who, in parallel, supports a second family composed by his mistress and son. If the story started with some potential and nerve, it lost quickly its initial strength with unbalanced scenes and an overcooked plot that also involves the policeman who is in charge of the case and the ex-boyfriend of the deceased girl. In some moments, the shaky camera was adequate, giving a sensation of disorientation, but in others, its use was completely unnecessary and even annoying. An acceptable balance was never achieved and I can point some scenes that made my interest collapse along the way - a violent rape as punishment ends up in an overemotional situation, just like the raging murder of a homeless beggar. Moreover, every time an intense rain and threatening sky were present, was a sign that a crime would be committed. Erratic and unsatisfying, “Mystery” can be skipped without regrets.