Early reviews by western critics suggested that Cao Baoping 's sophomore film was a stylish thriller/drama , but that much depended on the power of Zhou Xun 's performance as Li Mi . Shelly Kraicer , the Chinese film scholar and curator of the Vancouver International Film Festival 's Dragons and Tigers competition noted that while director " Cao Baoping is an expert at orchestrating frenzy , " the film ultimately belonged to Zhou Xun . Despite the praise , the film would not go on to win the award ( which went to Emily Tang 's '' Perfect Life '' ) . '' Variety '' critic Derek Elley also wrote in his review that the film was " motored by another saturated performance by the throaty-voiced Zhou . " Other critics saw the film as yet another example of China 's growing sophistication with " genre films . " The '' China Film Journal '' in its final verdict argued that while the film was not " life-changing , " it was nevertheless a " step in the right direction " and that audiences would not mind " seeing a few more '' Memento '' - esque films " coming out of China in the near future
Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Equation of Love and Death