A chilling drama set in China's inhospitable industrial western provinces.

After making a humorous debut with Uniform (MIFF 04), filmmaker Diao Yinan performs an about-face with this strikingly composed, minimalist drama that dives into inhospitable depths, leaving a chill that lingers long after the viewing experience ends. Wu Hongyan works in a small regional court, where she assists in the execution of condemned prisoners. Attractive but intensely lonely, she undertakes a listless search for love at matchmaking dance parties, where her encounters - more sexual than emotional - invariably end badly. Then she meets Li Jun, a man who both attracts and terrifies her, and who harbours a dark agenda of his own.