The Dead End

The Dead End (2015) is a Chinese crime drama from director Cao Baoping — watch online on iFILM. Three men — Deng Chao, Guo Tao and Duan Yihong — share no bloodline but swore themselves brothers and have been raising a girl they found as an infant. What binds them is a crime committed seven years ago, somewhere near a reservoir. A detective is now closing in.

Cao Baoping keeps the moral verdict deliberately out of reach. His characters carry guilt that can't be argued away, and he gives all three actors room enough to make it feel real. All three shared the Best Actor prize at the 2015 Shanghai International Film Festival — the same film, the same stage, three envelopes. Stream The Dead End (2015) on iFILM.