This film unfolds gradually, occasionally lingering too long on scenes depicting rundown industrial areas, yet when the narrative concentrates on the plot itself, it emerges as a decent crime drama. The story begins with a dismembered arm discovered amongst a pile of coal. Police respond, and "Zhang" (played by Fan Liao) is brought in to assist. Initially, he’s only able to identify the body, and his superiors, seemingly unimpressed, later relegate him to a security guard struggling with alcohol dependency. However, it becomes clear that there were multiple similar killings, now resurfacing to haunt him. He develops an intense focus on finding the perpetrator. With the return of his former partner "Liang" (Xuebing Wang), they follow a lead connecting them to the mysterious "Wu Zhizhen" (Gwei Lun-Mei). “Zhang” finds himself torn between being drawn to this woman and suspecting her involvement in the crimes, but is she actually connected? The film’s development feels unusual, progressing unevenly before reaching an ending that feels hurried and somewhat disappointing. It possesses a bleak and gritty aesthetic, with consistently cold and dreary weather contributing to the overall atmosphere, and the performances are adequate. Perhaps trimming twenty minutes of introductory character details would improve it; nevertheless, there's a worthwhile story here, and director Yi’nan Diao draws strong work from Fan Liao and his coal imagery.

Source on TMDB