River Without Buoys

Pan, Shi and Zhao are rafters on the Xiao River during the Cultural Revolution. Scarred by the turbulent times the frustrated men spent their days drinking, fighting and arguing until Shi goes to look for his fiancé Gaixiu who is forced to marry the village head and he came upon a badly injured Chen on his way to find her. Pan decides to take both Gaixiu and Chen on the raft and as they journey on Pan also meets the only woman he has ever loved before – Wu – who tells him about her tragic life of the past 30 years. As Pan revives Wu's will to live again, the raft is caught in a flash flood and Pan sacrifices himself to save the others. (Moscow International Film Festival)