← Back

Black Coal, Thin Ice

Original title: Bai ri yan huo · Turkish title: İnce Buz, Kara Kömür
2014 · 1 h 50 min
Directed by Diao Yinan
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir

Cast

Liao Fan Gwei Lun-mei Wang Xuebing

Credits

Written by: Yi'nan Diao
Produced by: Vivian Qu Juan Wan Shu Yang

Plot

In northern China in 1999, bodies are found dismembered in coal factories across the region. A detective is wounded in the investigation, and five years later, now working as a security guard, he returns to the case when new murders occur and falls for the widow of one of the victims. Diao Yinan's 2014 noir thriller won the Golden Bear in Berlin.

Sinekatalog’s take

Diao Yinan's noir thriller follows a washed-up detective in snowy northern China. Moody and darkly funny, with striking set pieces like the ice-rink scene, it won the Golden Bear and is stylish and unusual.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 6.7 / 10 (10,438 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

If you liked this

Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.