| Director | Lou Ye |
|---|---|
| Box office | $17,500 |
The Videographer (Zhang Ming Fan) is hired to record the performances of Meimei (Zhou Xun), who performs as a mermaid swimming in a large water tank at the Happy Tavern in Shanghai. He and Meimei fall in love, but she disappears days at a time, leaving him heartbroken.
The Videographer recalls the story of Mardar (Jia Hongsheng), a small-time crook and motorcycle courier, and Moudan (also Zhou Xun), the daughter of a rich liquor importer. Mardar is hired to drive Moudan to her aunt's apartment whenever her father brings home one of his mistresses. During their brief encounters on his motorcycle, Mardar and Moudan fall in love. Unbeknownst to Moudan, however, Mardar has become involved in a kidnapping scheme with his former lover Xiao Hong (Nai An), and the criminal Lao B (Yao Anlian), with Moudan as the target. On their orders, he imprisons Moudan in a warehouse while Xiao negotiates the ransom. The kidnapping goes awry when Lao B murders Xiao as soon as the money is delivered. Mardar, unaware of these developments, prepares to move Moudan to another location. When she learns how little money she was worth to her father and kidnappers, Moudan throws herself into the Suzhou River, apparently to her death. Mardar is arrested and imprisoned. Moudan's body, however, is never found.
Years later, Mardar returns to Shanghai and resumes his work as a courier, all the while still looking for Moudan. One night, he happens upon the Happy Tavern where he meets Meimei. Mardar, convinced she's his lost love, first spies on her in her dressing room and then seeks out the Videographer to tell his story. Later, Mardar tells Meimei about his affair with Moudan. Although initially dismissive, she finds herself falling in love with Mardar as well and has an affair with him. After being beaten one night by the owner of the Happy Tavern, Mardar heads out to the suburbs, where he discovers the real Moudan working in a convenience store. They reunite but shortly thereafter are found dead in the Suzhou River, near the spot where Moudan had disappeared years earlier.
Meimei is distraught. She and the Videographer spend one more night together before she disappears again. She leaves a note telling him that if he really loves her, he will search for and find her just as Mardar loved and found Moudan. After getting drunk on vodka gifted to him by Mardar, the Videographer decides not to pursue her.