Going into this film, I really didn't know
what to expect. Knowing that The Bird
People In China was a departure from
Takashi Miike's more extreme work had rendered
me somewhat disinterested and more than a little
afraid. Mind you, it was not the subject matter,
or the pacing or even the lack of sex and violence
that worried me. It was the very real fear that,
given a film with subject matter as lyrical and
delicate as this, Miike would merely coast through
the process while gearing himself up to shoot
Young Thugs: Nostalgia.
I have no idea why I ever doubted him.
The Bird People In China is
not only one of the most unexpected surprises
I have had this year, it is also one of Takashi
Miike's best films. However, in the same way that
Fudoh and Ichi the Killer
are most certainly not everyone's cup
of poisoned saki, this excellent film is sure
to leave many viewers cold as well.
Wada (Masahiro Motoki) is a Japanese salary-man
on his way to a Chinese province to investigate
claims of a rich vein of Jade that runs through
a village in the Yun Nan mountainside. Before
his journey can even begin he is saddled with
a crotchety old Yakuza called Yuji (Renji Ishibashi,
who is fantastic here). With the help of a guide,
Shen (Mako!!), the two men travel by foot and
by raft until they reach their destination, a
beautiful, mist-covered hamlet that is home to
a pretty young woman who teaches children how
to fly with the aid of mechanical wings.
What a simple plot synopsis of the film doesn't
do is provide any sense of how funny, beautifully
made, wonderfully acted, bittersweet and, at times,
intense The Bird People In China
really is. What starts out as a relatively broad
buddy-comedy becomes something magical and, most
surprisingly of all, dark. For an apparently whimsical
and lighthearted drama, this film ventures into
some really unexpected territory.
I honestly wasn't prepared for The Bird
People In China. It is a far richer,
more rewarding and more beautiful experience than
I was anticipating. It is also told with consummate
filmmaking skill. And the ending, far from being
the saccharin overload that I feared it would,
was just about perfect: logical, sparse and well
earned.
Don't let the lack of Miike's more extreme trademarks
deter you. I can't guarantee that everyone who
sees The Bird People In China
will enjoy it, but I'm sure that I'm not the only
one to go into this film with some serious reservations
and come out very pleasantly surprised. |
