Lake August

Ali and Xiao Yu are two teenage rebels idling away their days along the banks of a river in Jishou, a quiet town in Hunan province. They steal motorbikes, bully and rob kids, sing karaoke and get into fist fights outside the local internet bar. But their rough exterior belies a deeper romanticism, and a tenderness unfolds between them and their teenage loves. As one day bleeds into the next in this impoverished rural setting, it becomes apparent that these sun-baked days of misspent youth will be the wildest, freest time of their lives

In an deserted Chinese mountainous region, a dead man is found at a hillside.

A Li lives in a small town in the south. He is a gangster who lives on collecting money with the underworld thugs. His father is a good-for-nothing alcoholic. One morning, A Li sees Liang Yu and Xiaomin quarrelling in a distance. Later, A Li comes to the river as usual, sees Xiaomin who’s lying on the bank. He wakes her up, turns on the audio on the motorcycle and both of them listen to songs. Over time, the two become lovers. Days go by quietly. Liang Yu begins to text Xiaomin, hoping they could make up. Xiaomin begins to date Liang Yu out of boredom. Liang Yu and Xiaomin are getting closer. One day, Liang Yu once again asks Xiaomin out. In the woods, Liang Yu urges Xiaomin to break up with A Li. Xiaomin is silent and walking deeper into the woods. Liang Yu follows. After a while, A Li quietly track them down and takes out his machete, overturns Liang Yu’s motorcycle, and also walks into the woods…

A mysterious young woman appears in the woods and crosses paths with a succession of local figures, including a traveling photographer, a lonely old man, a reckless young punk, and two local policemen. As these encounters ripple through the community, they unearth old local myths, unexpressed traumas, and the hidden, shadowed histories of the residents.