Black Coal, Thin Ice

2014

1h 46m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

96%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

60%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Two former cops start investigating the series of murders that tanked their careers when the killings begin again.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent Black Coal, Thin Ice on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Tara Brady

Irish Times

Black Coal, Thin Ice twists and turns as it goes: even the jolting electronic music over the end credits springs another surprise.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 13, 2015

Full Review

David Ehrlich

Little White Lies

Maybe the angriest movie from mainland China since Li Yang's Blind Mountain.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 5, 2015

Full Review

Kate Muir

Times (UK)

What's fascinating is not merely the plot, but the wonderfully shot background, red and green neon on a grey townscape.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 4, 2015

Full Review

Dustin Chang

Floating World

Diao's China, the Beijing Olympics still 4 years away, is still very much provincial ("Who brought in a horse in my apartment?"), yet fast changing and cold-hearted. The film announces the arrival of another major auteur in Chinese cinema.

Feb 21, 2021

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

"Black Coal, Thin Ice" is a great art-house noir that thrives on both contextual and visual level, with the awards it received being utterly justified.

Dec 20, 2020

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Bleak but superbly moody, Diao Yinan's Black Coal, Thin Ice is an exciting homage to classic American film noir from a completely unexpected source, and much more intelligent than the simplicity of its title indicates.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 20, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Liam D

A well acted and written mystery is both engrossing and disturbing

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/20/22

Full Review

richard i

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

???????????????Blu-ray??????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Joan P R

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/20/17

Full Review

Audience Member

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

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Diao Yinan

Director

Fan Liao

Zhang Zili

Guey Lun-Mei

Wu Zhizhen

Xuebing Wang

Liang Zhijun

Jingchun Wang

Rong Rong

Diao Yinan

Screenwriter

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Police Story 2013

25%

33%

Police Story 2013

Felony

70%

46%

Felony

The Absent One

92%

68%

The Absent One

A Conspiracy of Faith

100%

67%

A Conspiracy of Faith

The Reckoning

50%

82%

The Reckoning

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Now Streaming: Top Five, Falling Skies, And More

View more photos

Synopsis

Two former cops start investigating the series of murders that tanked their careers when the killings begin again.

Director: Diao Yinan
Producer: Vivian Qu, Shen Yang
Screenwriter: Diao Yinan
Production Co: China Film, Boneyard Entertainment China, Omnijoi Media
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2015
Runtime: 1h 46m

Most Popular at Home Now