In Hongzhou, China, a woman’s dead body is found under a bridge by a river. She had a tattoo of a red daisy. Pursuing promotion, hot-tempered detective Liu Yibo boasts that he will solve the murder case within a few days. He Chen, who is suffering after the trauma of her sister being murdered, is deployed to work with him. A series of dead bodies each with a bloody daisy tattoo are found, and the new partnership chase the serial killer together. This murder case has not solved for 19 years, and they have no idea how their lives will be turned upside down.
This well-made crime noir, Bloody Daisy, focuses on the feeling of helplessness among the police regarding this case, still unsolved after 19 years, and the process of two detectives’ lives being devastated. The film bears some resemblance to Memories of Murder in terms of the subject matter, a cold case in a small local town, the two detectives’ chase for the murderer, locations, etc. Bloody Daisy is the debut film of director Xu Xiangyun, who is building his career as a scriptwriter. The strong performance of actors Wang Longzheng and Song Ningfeng is worthy of attention. (Ellen Y. D. KIM)