在这部清水里的刀子剧情片中,影片讲述在十年九旱的宁夏西海固，一个偏远的农村里，一个穆斯林老头的老伴去世了，老人和儿子举意要在老伴祭日那天宰掉陪伴老人十多年的老牛来搭救亡人。在接下来的日子里，老人和儿子对牛精心照料，并且也流露出对牛的不舍和对老伴的思念。在祭日的前三天，这头牛在饮它的水里看到了将要宰它的那把刀子，于是开始不吃不喝，为了以一个清洁的内里来结束自己的生命，之后老人就陷入了对生命和死亡的思考之中。
Ma Zishan (Yang Shengcang) is an aging Muslim farmer, part of the Hui minority. He and his family eke out an existence farming on an arid moonscape in China's northwest Ningxia province. Forty days after his wife dies, Ma must perform a memorial service and invite his village neighbors to a feast. He and his adult son (Yang Shengcang, different actor with same name) make the difficult decision to sacrifice their aging cow for the service, but the cow soon stops eating and drinking, as if in anticipation of its slaughter. Old Ma tenderly cares for the animal, washing it and attempting to feed it; perhaps he sees something of himself in the loyal old beast. Both of them are approaching the end of their natural lifespans, as is the hardscrabble way of life that characterizes their village.
西海固的生死疲劳。静止的清水。无差别的宿命论。形式可以大过内容，这也是电影的魅力之一。不知道叫啥的小白影评。我看清水里的刀子。《清水里的刀子》：复现生活的“静物电影”。依旧符号化的少数民族。无常与未知。清水里的刀子。
