On the Beat

The second installment in writer-director Ning Ying's Beijing Trilogy, this black comedy follows rookie cop Yang Guoli (Li Zhanho) as he settles into the drudgeries of day-to-day life in a police precinct that's hardly teaming with hardened criminals. Things start to look up when he chases after a rabid dog and busts a petty gambler, and the excitement comes to a head with an intense interrogation of a man accused of insulting a cop.