Combining elements of a psychological character study and a dark film noir, Diao Yinan’s award winning movie that takes place in China's far north tracks a dysfunctional cop on the trail of a cold murder case. After an arrest goes horrifically and comedically wrong, detective Zhang becomes a directionless drunk. That is until he stumbles upon a case of murder and dismemberment similar to the one that ruined him. High on atmosphere, Black Coal, Thin Ice solves its mystery through ambiguity, as if to say there are no easy answers to China’s troubled times.