MYSTERY

Mainland director Lou Ye, who gained international prominence with SUZHOU RIVER, continues to bring to light social issues and changes in contemporary Chinese society through stories on complex relationships in the metropolis. In MYSTERY, Lou Ye cast his frequent collaborator Qin Hao as the unfaithful husband whose affair is discovered by his wife. The truth continues to unravel as the mistress is killed in an auto accident and there is yet another mistress with an illegitimate child. Exposing the characters’ increasingly murky secrets, the film depicts the mores and values of rapidly developing China. Through the accident, people from different social classes become intertwined as their fear and vulnerabilities shape each other’s destiny. MYSTERY won Best Screenplay at the Asia Film Awards for its layered and intricate plot while Qi Xi won Best Newcomer for her searing performance as the mistress who was herself betrayed.