Under the Light (Chinese: 坚如磐石) is a 2023 Chinese crime drama film directed by Zhang Yimou. It tells the story of police officer Su Jianming (Lei Jiayin) and Li Huilin (Zhou Dongyu) as they join forces to investigate a criminal case connected to the local wealthy businessman Li Zhitian (Yu Hewei). The film was released in theaters in China on September 28, 2023.

Plot

To investigate the truth behind a bus explosion case, Su Jianming defies the warnings of his powerful and influential father, Zheng Gang, and rushes to attend a banquet hosted by wealthy businessman Li Zhitian. There, Su witnesses Li's brazen and cruel display of power, which includes humiliating others and plunging his hand into a boiling hotpot. As the night unfolds, shocking clues gradually surface: a corpse hidden in a wall, a deadly assault with a wrench, and the under-the-table transfer of nearly ten billion yuan.

Cast

Production

The film's original literal title is Black Hole. Casting began in May 2019 at the Meishi Film Academy of Chongqing University. Filming officially started later that same month and wrapped in September of the same year.

The film also marked the second collaboration between Zhang Yimou and Zhou Dongyu since her breakthrough film Under the Hawthorn Tree ten years ago.

Release

Produced by Beijing Enlight Pictures and Beijing Hanli Film, the trailer was released on June 8, 2020.

Originally scheduled for release in 2020, the film underwent multiple rounds of edits, reshoots, and redubbing (the original version was filmed in the Chongqing dialect) because its storyline was suspected to be loosely based on Bo Xilai, the former mayor of Chongqing, and Wang Lijun, the former police chief of the city. It was later scheduled for release on September 28, 2023, during the National Day holiday release window.

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