The Bird People in China (1998)

The Bird People in China: Directed by Takashi Miike. With Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Mako, Michiko Kichise. A salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more then they expected.

“Takashi Miike is the living definition of the word u0026quot;indefatigableu0026quot;. In a career that began in the early 1990s, he has directed a staggering number of films in a mind-boggling array of different genres, from horror to family films, even a musical (!); but Miike is probably best known for his Yakuza (Japanese gangster) films. The likes of FUDOH, ICHI, and DEAD OR ALIVE, with their over-the-top violence and surreal (often disgusting) setpieces, are Miikeu0026#39;s chief claim to fame. In one respect thatu0026#39;s a pity, because every once in a while, Miike will produce a wild card, and BIRD PEOPLE IN CHINA is a film that fits into that latter category. The man character is a young Japanese executive named Mr. Wada (Masahiro Motoki), who is sent by his boss to a remote region in the wilds of China to survey a supposedly rich jade mine. He is joined on his trip by a Yakuza named Ujiie (Renji Ishibashi), who plans on taking the jade as payment for some outstanding debts on the part of Wadau0026#39;s boss. After they are taken as far as the train will go, Wada and Ujiie are met by their guide, the absent-minded Mr. Shen (scene-stealer Mako), who takes them through the rugged, unsettled terrain of rural China, first on foot, and then on a raft pulled by several huge sea turtles. When the three men finally reach their destination, a village left untouched by the ravages of industrialization, Wada and Ujiie have a few epiphanies that will prove to make leaving rather difficult. It sounds like a simple story, and it is, but thereu0026#39;s something about this film that makes it great, but that I find hard to articulate. No doubt the startlingly beautiful cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto has a lot to do with the filmu0026#39;s hypnotic quality. And then thereu0026#39;s the genuinely touching story of two men who discover a whole other side to themselves that they were never previously aware existed. And finally, the filmu0026#39;s deft blend of genres is seamless: it shifts gears from a screwball/buddy comedy to a jungle-bound adventure to an existential rumination on identity and civilization, finally ending on a dream-like note of perfect serenity. There is one scene of Yakuza violence that seems inserted to remind us that weu0026#39;re watching a Miike film, but itu0026#39;s fleeting and, compared to some of what can be found elsewhere in his films, itu0026#39;s utterly tame and inoffensive. Thereu0026#39;s also an ecological message packed into the mix. So, final verdict: for fans of Miike who wonder what else the man is capable of, I highly recommend BIRD PEOPLE IN CHINA, surely the gentlest and most poignant of all the manu0026#39;s movies (at least that Iu0026#39;ve seen). For the truly open-minded aficionado, there is much to be enjoyed here.”