North River Town: The Story of the Past tells the story of Zhang Lijun, a young man from a northern town in the 1990s who, after being laid off and humiliated, rises from a street vendor to become a crime boss. He establishes Qing Shi Industries, colludes with officials, and monopolizes the market, until drugs and murder lead him to lose himself in desire and violence. In the end, his protectors fall, his brothers die, and the police close in. He raises his hands in surrender amid the fields of green gauze. After his trial and the rest of his life behind bars, he pays for his crimes with a twenty-year sentence. His ashes are eventually scattered into the Qing Shi River. This is a solemn tale of ruin and redemption, crime and punishment, and the passage of time.
