The Dead and End

“New Noir: Chinese Crime Films” presented six hard-hitting films directed by Chinese filmmakers who redefined the crime genre in China. The film series included “The Conformist” by Cai Shangjun, “The Dead and End” by Cao Baoping, “Lethal Hostage” by Cheng Er, “The Coffin in The Mountain” by Xin Yukun, “Black Coal, Thin Ice” by Diao Yinan, and “Free and Easy” by Geng Jun. Presented at Metrograph in New York, Brattle Theatre in Boston, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the series highlighted how a new generation of young auteurs has imbued the Chinese crime film with their own working methods, social observation, and artistic expression.

The Dead and End is a 2015 Chinese crime drama film based on Xu Yigua's novel Sunspot. The film is directed by Cao Baoping, starring Deng Chao, Duan Yihong, Guo Tao, and Wang Luodan.

Seven years after the events of the Water Chamber Murders, newly transferred officer Yi Guchun began to suspect that his assistant police, Xin Xiaofeng, is deeply-tied with the murders.