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Bird People In China Review By Yodasnoog |
It is very easy to pigeonhole Takashi Miike as a director who only makes uber-violent yakuza films, full of rape and gore. Granted, a lot of his prolific back catalogue is built up of movies planted firmly in the Yakuza genre, but every now and then, he’ll surprise you with a film so gentle and charming, that you’ll be sat wondering whether he actually directed or not. Bird People In China is one of those films, like Sabu, you will be surprised at how tender and delicately shot the film is. Miike almost uses this film to prove that he is not as one-dimensional as some people think. Wada (Masahiro Motoki, who you may remember from Takashi Ishii’s Gonin) is a on a trip to China, Yun Nan province to be precise, sent by the company he works for to visit a village in the mountains to inspect some Jade stone, which will eventually lead his company down there to dig the rest of it up. It is here we meet Ujiie (Played by Miike regular Renji Ishibashi), a Yakuza who has been following Wada, we find out that Wada’s company owes the Yakuza money, and Ujiie is here to collect the Jade stone for himself as a way of payment. So off the two of them go to the village with their guide Mr Shen (played by veteran actor Mako). When they finally reach the village they become stranded there and whilst waiting for a way to get back home they become fascinated with the place, as they become closer to the locals and try to unravel it’s history, which concerns the bird people the title suggests. A young girl in the village teaches young children the art of flying, using handcrafted wings. Wada takes it upon himself to translate an old book and diary written in English, which has been in the village for years and is the origin of the ‘bird people’. Without sounding like I took a course in pretentious “critic speak”, this film really does absorb you for it’s full duration, during the sequences in the village especially, where Hideo Yamamoto’s cinematography really shines, capturing some of the most beautiful images I’ve seen in a movie for a long time. Miike’s regular composer Koji Endo (he who composed the ever memorable score for Dead Or Alive) is on top form here too, coming across in an almost Joe Hisaishi-esque mode, his gentle score perfectly partners with Yamamoto’s work. The film also has some subtle comedic moments, especially where Ujiie’s surly Yakuza is concerned. Never missing an opportunity to complain about the rain or bully poor Wada around, he really is the most detailed and multi-layered character here and is affected by the serene atmosphere of the village the most, which becomes all the more evident during the films climax. Among the not so subtle moments, is a scene where Wada, Shen and Ujiie gets extremely high on magic mushrooms whilst camping for the night, complete with fireworks and some very quick but fantastic CGI bulging eyes. This now goes high up on my list of Miike favourites, and probably high up on my list of favourite Japanese movies. Everyone that thinks Miike is only capable of killing people on screen in stylish ways, should check this out, especially if you thought his highly recommended titles were overrated, there might just be something here for you to enjoy. |
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