Many stories surround the Suzhou River, the body of water that runs through the city of Shangai. Among them is the passionate story of lovers, Mardar and Moudan, who surrender their lives for love, told through the eyes of video photographer, ′I.′ However, ′I′ is a realist. He has a girlfriend named Meimei whom he is not in love with as the tragic lovers of his film. Meimei thinks that the lovers were a figment of I′ ′s imagination, but when the bodies of the lovers submerge, she realizes that it was all true and demands ′l′ for the same kind of love which ′I′ disregards. By borrowing a mystery format, the love that ′I′ traces is ultimately not that of Mardar and Moudan but the one between Meimei and himself. By comparing the fatal lovers with ′l′ and Meimei, filmmaker, Lou Ye paints a portrait of the young modern Chinese who have lost their love and dreams. Furthermore, this is done by stressing the subjective point-of-view of ′I′ and by constructing Mardar and Moudan as a myth. (Kim Ji-Seok)