Feels deeply symbolic, though of what is probably part of its mystery, but ultimately as a detective story, pretty as it looks and darkly humorous as it is at times, it ends up rather dragging.

This is a bit of a mixed bag. There is plenty to admire but for me it does not quite know how to end. Vivid portrayal of misogyny.

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Interesting portrayal of the hard life and ugly urban landscapes of a cold and grey province in China. As a detective story it can be painful to watch, with the police always slow and clumsy, or otherwise trigger-happy. The gender and sexual politics are not brilliant either, but perhaps this is the point - how awful it must be for a woman in China.

Well shot, but is too by-the-book for its own good.

I have no idea why this film won the Golden Bear in Berlin. There was some nice cinematography; the story sounded promising but the movie dragged.

So so mystery because the plot was so slow and meandering. The setting was interesting, though: a small wintry and very desolate Chinese city.

Though I very much enjoyed this film, I doubt if it's down everyone's alley; the pace is too leisurely for our impatient age. It's a bit of a surprise to be dealing in an unknown, snowy Chinese location, but part of the film's charm is snow and ice. You get the feeling the director knows winter very well, almost as well as he knows the way people behave under duress.The two leads both nail their respective roles. The detective, played by Fan Liao, is likable as a fallible but persistent cop. And the mysterious woman at the center of a crime spree, played by Lun Mei Gwei, is strangely intriguing and also well cast.I found the plot fairly original and thoroughly entertaining, though the ending seemed a little expected, if still a welcome extension to the engrossing story.

Wow. Really surprised by this one. A really dark, oddball noir mystery. Really took its time building up and had a lot of haunting cool imagery. And it ended really strongly.

A slow burn of a suspense that is moody and atmospheric but lacks urgency.

Doesn't quite get its foot off the ground. Stunning visuals aside, this cop thriller could have been much better, but instead finds itself as a slow paced and not well thought film.

Starts off with some interesting hooks and a few attention grabbing scenes but gradually plot and character succumb to atmosphere. But an atmosphere that's more an obscuring smog than the rich noir environments it's apparently modeled on.

Black Coal est franchement passionnant jusqu'au moment où Yu Ailei disparaît du film. On se retrouve alors dans un face-à-face Fan Liao vs Gwei Lun-Mei plutôt étrange. Malheureusement, derrière cette bizarrerie ambiante, on ne trouve pas grand-chose, comme si Yinan Diao avait voulu être weird for the sake of it. C'est assez gênant sur quelques scènes. Il en reste que les trente premières minutes sont remarquables (la scène du salon de coiffure est folle de tension, de suspense et de surprise) et que les acteurs sont très bons. Le film aurait simplement dû être plus que ce qu'il est au final...

It is baffling to see that the Berlin International Film Festival gave the Golden Bear to this sterile movie that plods along through some very dull revelations and doesn't work in any level: not as a mystery/thriller/film noir, nor as a romance, nor even as a character study.

Chouette polar sinueux qui brouille les cartes en se plaisant a masquer sa gravite derriere une derision tres scandinave...