The Bird People In China

Although perhaps a little reiterative in places particularly with respect to the motif of a traditional folk song "Annie  Laurie" The Bird People In China, based on a novel by Makato Shiina, is an elegantly conceived and made film.

A prolific director, Miike is best known for his sexually macabre and yakuza-themed gore fests much loved by cult movie fans but this reflective film is considerably removed from such fare. For its first half it appears to be some kind of road trip comedy as two Japanese men, one a young salary man (Masahiro Motoki), the other a yakuza (Renji Ishibashi) make their way to China's remote Yunnan province in search of a potentially valuable vein of jade. They are guided by Shen, a genial peace-loving older man who leads them on what becomes a life-changing experience as they are transformed by the mystical power of the remote corner of the world untouched by modernization to which they have come.

Against a stunning backdrop of remote mountain scenery, Miike finds an amusing, engaging and touching form for presenting the conflict between past and future, nature and civilization, God and Mammon as his two culture-shocked protagonists find themselves caught up and transformed by the villagers' belief that they can learn to fly. A remarkable film made all the more remarkable by contrast with the director's typically violent output,

 

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