Design of Death

Niu Bishi, a village troublemaker and social outcast, is found dead in a remote Chinese mountain community. His passing is hastily attributed to a mysterious plague, prompting an outside doctor to investigate. As the inquiry deepens, a more unsettling truth emerges: every single resident of the cloistered village harbored a secret reason to wish the odious man dead. The search for cause becomes a dissection of collective guilt and social conformity, where ancient rituals and shared narratives hold more power than individual facts. The film unravels the dark mechanics of a society that preserves harmony by eliminating discord.