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Movie
Poster for The River

The River

1997 · 116 min

A slow, suffocating drift through urban alienation and bodily pain, watching a family silently fall apart in long, still, uncomfortable takes.

Overview
A young man develops severe neck pain after swimming in a polluted river for a movie shoot, but nobody can provide him any relief.
In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • isolation
  • family
  • loneliness
  • identity
  • trauma
Places
  • big city
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror4
Humour1
Realism8
Romance2
Tension6
Darkness9
Complexity7
Emotional weight9

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance
Directed by
Tsai Ming-liang
Written by
Tsai Ming-liang, Yi-chun Tsai, Pi-ying Yang
Starring
Lee Kang-sheng, Miao Tian, Lu Yi-ching, Chen Shiang-Chyi, Ann Hui, Chen Chao-jung, Yang Kuei-mei, Lin Hsiao-Lan
Cinematography
Liao Pen-jung
Runtime
116 min
Country
Taiwan
Languages
Mandarin

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