Patryk Czekaj One of the most underrated movies directed by Takashi Miike. It's a poetic art-house production, which focuses on the most covert aspects of the human psyche, evaluating the dream-like realm of our minds. A Tokyo-based salary-man is sent to the most remote place in China (where no information goes in or goes out) on a mysterious mission to follow a precious Jade Jewell trail. Along with him comes a fierce Yakuza enforcer. While the two men arrive in a strange village, they discover more than they really bargained for. It's an adventure of the most inscrutable kind, showing how the frightening unknown can change the way we perceive our world. It's also about the far-reaching changes that people go through when they're suddenly placed in front of some strange and unparalleled new sensations, frequently resulting in some unexpected alterations of our every-day lives. The thought-provoking tale about men flying on colossal wings gives the film a much needed sense of surrealism, merging what's real and what's beyond human control.With a contemplative storyline, mesmerizing and fascinating imagery, audacious and sinister sense of humor, and a most haunting song you'll ever hear, The Bird People in China comes both as a very strong position in Takashi Miike's directorial career and as a perfectly satisfying and detailed exploration of human emotions.

gothic_a666 Every now and then Miike will depart from the hyper violent aesthetics for which he is know and produce something that is both sweet and moving. 'The Bird People in China' is one of these gems that attest to the director's great versatility. Which is not to say that Miike's staples are not present here, they are merely reinterpreted. After all one of the mains is a spastic yakuza but his character undergoes severe transformations as the movie progresses deep into dreamy landscapes of endless green mountains. The other main character is less typical in Miike's filmography but is a very Japanese trademark of the jaded young salaryman.The combination of these two characters begins as a comedy and the initial stages of the movie border on adventure. Citizens used to the frantic life of Tokyo are flung into rural China and forced to match completely opposite personalities as the journey becomes more and more insane. The cultural gap is evident and very interesting in that it is within Asia. All too often there is a tendency for missing the fact that there are profound differences within the Asian continent.China here is not only a real country but it is a land of dream. The imagery and the theme of people flying is reminiscent to Taoist concepts of inner landscapes of the soul and the movie corroborates this. But the wealth of influences that went into creating this work of art were manifold, so that it is not all that surprising that it should echo the Heart of Darkness in later moments. And yet it remains a solid unit in which a sense of prevailing ethereal beauty harmonizes everything.For all the dreamy atmosphere that is so dominant the ending is realistic. Idealism is sobered by realism. Life lessons are learned in a place akin to paradise but to remain there may be counterproductive. Or perhaps it is simply a different choice. It is up to the viewer to decide and to enjoy this wonderful experience of beautiful film making.

tedg Miike has a pretty solid pattern. He makes films for a distinctly Japanese audience, teasing out some issue or two that seems culturally rooted. This is his context. He shifts it into a magical, cinematic world and imagines scenes as episodes within this containing structure.So we get impressed by the big idea — moreso if Japanese — and also impressed by some of the episodes, those that work. Oddly, the general audience thinks that Miike prefers violence but I think he will simply do anything that has cinematic power that fits his large-small vision.Japanese have a strange relationship with the mainland. They know they (the main "race" on the islands) originated in Korea. The urge is to project back beyond that and posit a people who came as a group from some magical location deeper in the mainland. This story in the large hangs on the myth that the race came from a remote mountainous region in China, Yunnan. It isn't quite China, with the people and traditions being a melange of China, Tibet and Indochina. A dear Japanese wise man explained to me that the indigenous people on the islands came from Polynesia and had a "horizontal" cosmology, while the later migration from the mainland — being mountain people — had a vertical cosmology. This subtle insight advises all sorts of things: architecture for one, cinematic composition for another. In this case, it includes the myth that the proto-Japanese could fly.Here we have two stereotypical characters (plus one who appears briefly) on a quest to find this magical source. The film is clearly in two halves. The first half is reality-based and full of jokes. Then in the midst of a flood after crossing mountains, the thing takes a shift into magic. They are transported the final leg by harnessed turtles, itself referencing an ancient story.Into this they carry all sorts of things associated with Japan (by modern Japanese), and little of it makes sense in this new place. A simple view will see a simple ecological message, but that is not the case here. It is about what is pure; its attractions and curse. The final scene is very nice, but what matters is the narration of our "reporter" right before that. The longing is pure.Li Li Wang, plays the woman at the center of this place. She is amazing.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

QuackQuackHere This past year I've been watching lots and lots (and lots) of foreign films. This one is top-notch. I have the same question as many others: why isn't this film better known?Strangely enough, I happened to find this film at the library and was enchanted by the cover. Everything about this film is magical.I would urge everyone: contact your local library (if they have the capacity to offer films). Tell them to please order this film - it's important :-) Honestly, I found this film by accident at the public library. Wouldn't it be great if all libraries had a copy?merci beaucoup!