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Perhaps I should first clarify that this is indeed a Japanese film, despite the title and the fact that The Bird People in China was shot primarily in China. The lead characters do speak Japanese throughout the movie.
The Bird People in China proves that not all of China has been irreversibly polluted (yet).
I was hoping for an unusual film when I selected this title for viewing, and I was not disappointed.
Everything I read about The Bird People in China always started out by explaining this was not an unpleasantly violent film like most of Japanese director Takashi Miike’s work. Many who have seen this movie seem intent on letting potential viewers know it is not a typical and perversely gory Miike film.
The Bird People in China sounded like it might be the one Takashi Miike movie suited to my sensibilities. I decided to give it a chance and I’m glad I did.
A meditative winged ritual provides an interesting visual in The Bird People in China.
The Bird People in China is a serene and peaceful story overall. There is some aggression and violence revolving around a yakuza character, but it seems minimal and reasonable for the story.
The Bird People in China starts out as a road trip movie that begins in Japan and results with the discovery and exploration of a hidden Eden within China. A businessman and yakuza henchman are paired together on a trip they both would rather not take as the story begins. A mystery is encountered in the very idyllic, isolated community they discover. As you might imagine, the mystery revolves around… bird people. The details of that mystery are definitely best left to be discovered through viewing the film.
Former Japanese pop singer Masahiro Motoki, in the role of Wada, about to depart for an unexpected and very unusual adventure.
Since there might be a few whitewater kayakers reading this review as a result of finding their way from my adventure oriented independent film production website, I will mention that The Bird People in China contains a few fascinating and massive, flood stage river scenes in China.
And for the podcast enthusiasts out there, the main lead in this movie documents his experiences with a portable cassette recorder, similarly to how a soundseeing podcast episode might be recorded. One of the recordings becomes important to the development of the story, though the film definitely takes liberties with the potential self-rejuvenation properties of dying batteries.
I have spent quite a bit of time in China for a variety of reasons, but the filth and pollution in the cities there has discouraged me from being eager to return for pleasure trips. Unlike Japan where I could live happily for the rest of my life, China for me is only a place for visiting, preferably for no more than a few weeks at a time maximum. Watching The Bird People in China helped remind me that I may still want to risk visiting China a time or two more to experience some of the beautiful remote areas I have not yet seen.
I really enjoyed this curious film. It may be too slow paced for film enthusiasts who thrive on movies such as those Miike is more famous for, but I think the pacing here provides more time to enjoy and appreciate the beautiful scenery and unusual story.
Extras
The commentary track from English speaker Tom Mes, who is apparently a big fan of Takashi Miike’s horror/terror films, reinforces a point I just touched on in the Rashomon review, that recording a compelling commentary track is difficult when the person doing it was not involved in the production of the film being discussed.
It is nice that an effort was made to find someone to add commentary in English. Tom Mes seems like a pleasant enough fellow in this commentary recording, but you would likely need to be an obsessive commentary listener like me to make it all the way through The Bird People in China’s commentary track.
A more interesting tidbit to look for on the DVD is the computer generated turtle brigade that pulls a raft through a very wild river. The whole notion of the turtles serving in this fashion and how they could possibly be recovered when lost is absolutely ludicrous, but it doesn’t really disturb the movie. The entire turtle scenario somehow seems acceptable in this little fable, though it is a bit startling when those CGI turtles show up in the brief underwater scene. I am sure I’m not the only person who skips back a bit with their remote to re-watch that completely unexpected short visual.
For Japanese Language Students
I found the Japanese very listenable in this movie, and I was able to pick out quite a bit of dialogue considering I am at a beginner level as of this viewing. The Bird People in China is a modern story with modern dialogue between the Japanese characters, even if they are in an “ancient” place. The relaxed pace of the film may also facilitate listening by providing a little time to absorb what you are hearing.
Final Notes
This could be a good film for introducing a “non-enthusiast” to Japanese cinema. It really is more about nature and a charming mystery than it is about the intricacies of Japanese culture. This movie might also be a great recommendation for someone studying Japanese, a general travel enthusiast, or an ecologically minded person.
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Dan Savage [Email]
The Bird People in China
Entertainment Value: Excellent
Listening Practice: Very Good
The Bird People in China is available through Netflix.
As I get this review site underway and jump back into Kurosawa planning to re-watch many of the Akira Kurosawa films in my library for review purposes, I decided to start out the Kurosawa directory with Rashomon, something completely fresh and new to me and one of Akira Kurosawa’s most famous films. Though I have owned the movie for some time, this Rashomon review comes after my very first viewing.
Machiko Kyo, in the role of Masako, gives her disturbing account of the incident. The odd smudges on her forehead are meant to represent eyebrows. It was the fashion during the Heian period for ladies of the court to remove their natural eyebrows and replace them with soot marks higher up called "moth wings".
I can understand how Rashomon was ground breaking for its time, but a film made in 1950 no matter how good then is going to be a bit primitive in many ways. You must be prepared for that and be willing to be patient with some aspects of the production. The direction of Kurosawa and the camera work of Kazuo Miyagawa is still impressive in many scenes.
Some of your patience will be needed simply because this film was made for a specific time and specific viewing audience who were comfortable with many elements and behaviors presented in the story. The overacting, stereotypical characters, and general presentation are likely suited to the expectations of a 1950’s Japanese audience.
Though the story does rely on dialogue, Rashomon plays a lot like a silent movie, and Kurosawa has indicated this was his intent. The interesting outdoor testimony scenes provide nice separators for the multiple presentations of the crimes. I kept imagining the actors were in a corner of the famous Ryoanji rock garden in Kyoto (minus the bigger rocks) during the scenes where each character is attempting to tell the story in a way that presents themselves in a more favorable light.
The music in Rashomon is often heavy handed and an obtrusive and displeasing element, especially the odd bastardized version of Ravel’s Bolero that jarringly pops up in the film. But it does sort of lend a silent movie effect, as if someone was down in the orchestra pit banging away on an old dilapidated piano. The music is not piano music and perhaps not quite as crude as I am portraying, but it often seemed to have a life of its own, as if it was separate from the movie in many places.
There are no really admirable or genuinely sympathetic lead characters in Rashomon, so it is a bit of a mental ordeal to watch this intentionally unpleasant story shared over and over again in its different incarnations.
Toshiro Mifune's bandit is portrayed almost as a hero in this version of the story.
Toshiro Mifune is fascinating as always, though the over-the-top psychotic laughter from him and Machiko Kyo later in the film is very annoying. The laughter served its purpose of forcing the point that these characters are not intended to be worthy of the audience’s compassion, but it is far too excessive and doesn’t play well today.
There are a lot of issues to consider in the presentation of Rashomon, and it is at the very least a thought provoking film. It is a film that does not wrap things up with definitive answers to the questions posed. It leaves the viewer to ponder and consider our sometimes tenuous perception of truth and reality.
If this review at first sounds like I was not very fond of Rashomon, I should clarify that I did not strongly dislike the film. I learned some things from studying Rashomon. Perhaps much of what I learned was revealed in the DVD bonus features, especially the subtitled interviews from part of the NHK documentary The World of Kazuo Miyagawa with Kurosawa and cinematographer Miyagawa. I watched the NHK supplied material before viewing Rashomon. I think it was valuable and though I wouldn’t normally recommend this, I do suggest watching the bonus features first with Rashomon. It gave me a few good things to look for and made the viewing of this “out of time” movie less tedious.
If you enjoy studying movies and are interested in significant films that are credited with changing the face of cinema around the world, then you may very much enjoy and appreciate this classic film. If you are looking for a fun and easy to watch Japanese movie, you might want to pass on Rashomon.
Extras
After writing this review, I also forced myself to sit through the commentary by Donald Richie, an author of several books on Japanese film. Though I listen to almost every single commentary provided with every single film I view at home, I say “forced” in this case because I’m always hesitant to sit through commentaries recorded by people who had absolutely nothing to do with the production of the film being discussed.
In fairness to Mr. Richie, he was not a pointless babbler, and I definitely learned some things from listening to his comments. Though I was hesitant at the beginning of the commentary, I do not regret taking the time to watch Rashomon a second time with Mr. Richie‘s accompaniment. My appreciation for the film was certainly increased and if you add this title to your library, I would say the commentary is definitely worthwhile for your second viewing of the film.
Donald Richie, though obviously a fan of Kurosawa’s work, suggested quite directly in his commentary that Kurosawa had no real talent for music direction in his films, and that the composer was not at fault for the inappropriate soundtrack. He blames Kurosawa, sharing a story of how Kurosawa directed the composer to come up with something Bolero-esque. That was very interesting to me, especially after my own reaction to the weird music composition during my first viewing.
For Japanese Language Students
As far as listening comprehension practice goes, there are many heated exchanges consisting of dialogue delivered at a very high rate of speed. I do not think this is a good choice for beginner Japanese students trying to pick out lines by ear.
Savage Japan Movie Reviews (top)
Dan Savage [Email]
Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon
Entertainment Value: Moderate
Listening Practice: Poor
Film Study Opportunity: Excellent
Rashomon is available through Netflix.
With the databases that bind some of my sites’ content together being corrupted by my previous hosting provider during one of their server upgrades, I’ve now moved on to hopefully greener hosting pastures.
This formerly HTML site was not one of the websites destroyed by my previous provider, but I’ve decided to take this hosting change as a cue to relaunch Savage Japan Movie Reviews with free WordPress software that will make the site easier to manage and make it possible to add new reviews without manually assembling HTML code.
I will be restoring the original reviews as I tweak this new WordPress version of the site, and then I’ll start adding new reviews every week or so.
Interestingly, it took me almost as long to build the page for a review as it did to write a review with the original version of SJMR. Using WordPress should make this a much more fun undertaking for me and result in a more satisfying, frequently updated destination for those who stop by from time to time.
If you want to play with the tool I use to make custom templates for WordPress, you can download a free demo of the surprisingly easy to use Artisteer using the banner link below.
Artisteer runs on Macs and PCs and can export templates in other formats as well, but WordPress is the most user friendly, versatile platform for blogs and other websites. Most hosting providers now allow you to automatically install WordPress in your hosting account for free with a few button clicks.
Many free templates are available for Wordpress, but being able to easily create and customize templates that perfectly suit my needs made Artisteer a worthwhile small expense for me.
Thanks for checking in.
Savage Japan Movie Reviews (top)
Dan Savage [Email]
This website was created using Artisteer (Mac and PC).
