1A half truth is a whole lie.
风中的火焰 or Flames in the Wind is a slow paced, Northeastern suspense thriller in a similar vein as 2023's hit The Long Season. It is set in a a desolate mining town in Ningxia where time moves slowly and the future looks bleak. After graduating from high school in 1994, three childhood friends are chomping at the bit to escape from their dead-end town. Both Liu Bai and his girl Mei Wei are university bound, if they can somehow find the funds to make it work. The less academically inclined Lei Fugui means to work his way up in the world. One night, they find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time and become entangled in a secret that changes their lives and sends them down divergent paths.Ten years later, as the town is being relocated, fate draws the three friends back to the town they had tried so hard to leave behind. A burnt corpse is dumped outside the police station. It reminds veteran cop Chu Zhi Qiang of a cold case that shook the town a decade ago. He must convince Zhang Tao, his new captain to relook at the case with new eyes. Their investigation reopens old questions about what exactly happened that one night so long ago. Nobody really knows the full story; everyone's account is some combination of their own version of the truth and speculation. But a half truth is a whole lie and thus narrative skilfully builds a compelling case against each of the suspects based on their half-lies.
While the narrative builds tension masterfully, this is one of those suspense thrillers where there is no criminal mastermind or genius crime busting cop; it is just about bad luck, worse decisions and human tragedy. What makes it superb is the acting; it is so authentic and raw that I deeply empathised with the characters' struggles, motivations and imperfections. Jiang Qiming never disappoints and his portrayal of Liu Bai as an enigmatic, still waters run deep kind of character anchors the narrative. Underneath the surface lurks so many complex emotions; guilt, anger, duplicity, desperation, love-hate, regret; all conveyed with nuance and micro-expressions. I was surprised by Yang Caiyu's Mei Wei. I thought she was just a pretty face playing a pretty face and I disliked Mei Wei's selfishness and sense of self preservation from the get go. But as she reveals her vulnerabilities, I felt terribly sorry for this coal miner's daughter who was born in the wrong town and her thirst for a better life. I also could see why the equally mercenary Fugui preferred a much simpler woman to such a complicated one.
Where this drama stumbles is in the pacing, the overall plot logic and the ending. The storytelling is well paced and riveting until the final 4-6 episodes, where the final denouement is delayed to linger too long on Zhang Tao's boring marital and personal issues. Plot logic is an issue from the start as this drama is helmed by a Taiwanese director that is clearly unfamiliar with China's legal framework. Some of the issues Chinese netizens highlight is that in that kind of town, a security guard is effectively deputised as a policeman when it comes to enforcing the law on premises. The legal framework is also depicted as a very harsh one that doesn't take into account mitigating circumstances including self-defense and hands out inequitable sentences that don't distinguish between murder and manslaughter. After the fillers, the ending felt anti-climatic, incredibly sad and unnecessarily cruel. On some level it doesn't matter because this is really a character story that delivers in spades. On some other level, it left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied because there was no justice or closure, just a legal process. I do highly recommend it for the acting but I cannot rate this better than 8/10 because the plot is unworthy of this cast.
P.S. Leslie Cheung's iconic 1990s Cantopop hit The Wind Blows On 风继续吹 perfectly captures the ethos of this story.
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Riveting Mystery Drama, don't let this pass you by.
'Let Wind Goes By' is a true gem in mystery dramas. From the moment it began, I was hooked. The storyline is riveting, weaving together intricate plotlines with ease and keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. Despite the complex narrative, it's easy to follow, which is a testament to the excellent writing and direction.The drama is set in 2003 and involves a veteran detective and a transferred officer working together to solve a mysterious case in a small mining town. The tragic truths uncovered from the town's past add depth and intrigue to the storyline, making it a compelling police procedural with a perfect mix of mystery and crime elements.
The acting in "Let Wind Goes By" is spectacular. Each character is brought to life with such depth and nuance that you can't help but become emotionally invested in their journeys. The cast's performances, including those of Wang Jing Chun, Jiang Qi Ming, and Yang Cai Yu, elevate the drama, making every twist and turn even more impactful.
Jiang Qi Ming is such a talented and gifted actor and has been in some serious home runs in Dramaland, like "The Long Season" and "To the Wonder". Both are critically acclaimed. He is a true talent!
Overall, "Let Wind Goes By" is a must-watch for fans of mystery dramas. It's a perfect blend of suspense, emotion, & stellar acting that will leave you wanting more. Highly recommended.
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Never knowing who and what to trust
Let Wind Goes By is a finely crafted crime drama with some of the best acting I've ever seen. It's a sad story of 3 childhood friends whose lives and dreams get shattered by unfortunate events, poverty and sheer bad luck. Sometimes it feels like these desolate dramas where the setting and environment play a big role were made just for me. The setting in this is a mining town that is about to be closed down and the inhabitants moved elsewhere. The cinematography is beautiful. There story revolves around two different crimes 10 years apart. These two timelines are well woven together, with more focus on the present (2003) than the past (1994).The 3 friends are so fully fleshed out as persons whose lives and circumstances get out of their own control that we don't get to judge them as either good or bad people. We try to understand them, watch them, and study them, with sympathy. If anyone looks for shiny happy people this definitely ain't the place. The 2 policemen in charge who are also main characters, are just very ordinary humans with their own strenghts and weaknesses. They have no superpowers but just bite into solving the cases and never let go. It's shown how their persistence and passion also takes its own toll on them.
About the actors, Jiang Qi Ming as Liu Bai, Yang Cai Yu as Mei Wei, and Huang Feng Feng as Lei Chugui, are all simply amazing. Such nuanced characters, fully fleshed out. What makes this drama so good is that we really never know what and who to trust in the story. Whether they had a plan or worked things out together or just deceived each other, whilst still remaining each other's closest friends, is what makes up the suspense in Let Wind Goes By. It seems like a small thing but if you're into character based dramas, this one is just fascinating. Very little action or violence shown, which I liked. Even the one near-psycho character, Lei Changtian, admits his own dumbness and impulsiveness. Just when you thought this character was going to be a psycho killer caricature, he sits down and admits he's a typical guy who does jailtime bc of lack of self-control and obsessive compulsive drives.
That the veteran detective starts studying criminal psychology is one message for us watchers from the writer about how much thought went into building the story and characters. And how much they expect us to think, by ourselves.
The downside is that the pacing is slow. I recommend watching at 1.25 speed. And there were some things that were confusing or revealed too late, in the last episode, like what happened with the people in the burned car and who crashed the truck into the guy with a burned face. These things make me rate this 8.0.
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Decent crime drama with good acting from the cast that took 10 years to solve
Let Wind Goes By is a crime drama set in the rural town of Ningxia. A soon-to-be-retired policeman solved the case in 10 years with the help of the newly assigned team captain.The acting is excellent for the entire ensemble, especially Yang Cai Yu and Jiang Qi Ming. The story's pace is not bad, but the flashbacks between 1993 and 2003 were sometimes confusing. The drama would be excellent if it were cut short by 4-5 episodes. It is a bit dragging at times, and I watched with 2.x speed to bypass the unnecessary scene filters, which are quite common in Cdrama.
Synopsis: In 2003, a mining town in Ningxia faced relocation when suddenly a burned female body appeared in front of the police station. The circumstances of the case are very similar to an unsolved murder case from 10 years ago. The retired police officers Chu Zhi Qiang and Zhang Tao, who were reassigned to Ningxia, worked together to solve the case while simultaneously dealing with the town's relocation.
My Reviews:
1. Acting: 7.5
2. Script: 6
3. Music/OST: 6
4. Production Quality: 6
5. Cinematography: 7
Overall Rating: 7
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