在古希腊神话中，Charon是负责将迷失的灵魂运送到死亡王国的船夫。以这个古老的传说为起点，船夫讲述了一个现代Charon的故事，这个故事发生在上海市郊。在那里，船夫每天和妻子一起吃饭，看电视，或者只是欣赏风景。每一次都有越来越多的灵魂乘船前往死者的王国，那里的生活似乎对每个人都更加繁荣和幸福。最后，《船夫》是一部关于农村人口刚开始减少的电影。

In the ancient Greek mythology, Charon was the boatman who was responsible for transporting lost souls to the Kingdom of dead. Taking as a starting point this ancient legend, Boatman tells the story of a modern Charon, this time located in the suburbs of the city of Shanghai. There, the boatman spends his days dining with his wife, watching television or simply contemplating the landscape. Every time more and more souls take their boat in order to move to the Kingdom of the dead, a place where life seems to be more prosperous and happy for everyone. Boatman is, at last, a film about the incipient depopulation of rural areas.