Cover Art

Credits

Director: Takashi Miike Starring: Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Makoto 'Mako' Iwamatsu and Li Li Wang Screenplay: Masa Nakamura (based on a novel by Makoto Shiina) Music: Kôji Endô Tagline: 'I've slept more than 10,000 times, but I've never dreamt of flying like a bird…' Country: Japan AKA: Chûgoku no chôjin

The story tells of how a young businessman is dispatched from Japan to the rural mountains of China to investigate a possible vein of jade that has been discovered there. Upon his arrival he is met by an aggressive and obnoxious Yakuza man who has been assigned to accompany the young Japanese businessman. Apparently, the company the young man works for owes a debt to the Yakuza, and the Yakuza mobster is to travel with him in the hope of a possible payoff in jade. Along with their guide, the trio set off into the wilds of China to search for this jade.

Upon reaching their destination, where the jade supposedly is to be found, they not only find what they came for, but they also discover a remote village set in the mountains. The unusual thing about the villagers, though, is that they venerate the legend of the 'Birdman' who came from the sky to their village. This legend is taught to the children at their 'flying school'. I won't give the story away too much, but the remainder of the film reveals the soul searching of these visitors and of how the Yakuza mobster in particular becomes enamoured with the place and the legend.

Those expecting another ballistic assault on the senses from Miike will be sorely disappointed, as this is a slow and meandering film with very little excitement. It's adapted from a well-known novel, apparently, and Miike does an efficient job of telling the story and shows that he is very able at character development. However, the film is also pretty dull and the snail's pace storytelling does it no favours. Sure, it looks very nice and the scenery is spectacular, but the film just seems to lack any real depth. After an hour or so I was just wishing for it to end – and this is not a good sign. To be fair, the acting is very good and Miike handles the material extremely well, but I just found it all rather uninteresting and boring. It became hard to care for the characters, as the tedium became increasingly burdening.