Chûgoku no chôjin (1998)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Masa Nakamura (screenplay)
Makoto Shiina (novel)

Release Date:

10 June 1998 (Japan)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

A salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more then they expected.

Plot Keywords:

Chinese | Yakuza | Japanese | Mother Nature | Tribe

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Masahiro Motoki	...	Wada
Renji Ishibashi	...	Ujiie
Mako	...	Shen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michiko Kase
Yuichi Minato		(as Yuuichi Minato)
Tomohiko Okuda
Manzô Shinra
Li Li Wang	...	Yan, Si-chang

Also Known As:

The Bird People in China (International: English title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Certification:

Taiwan:GP | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Yunnan, China

Company:

Excellent Film

A fabulous, engrossing art-film/yazuka story

Chûgoku no chôjin (AKA The Bird People of China) represents versatile director Miike Takashi's foray into novel territory. This isn't a thrill-ride like Dead or Alive; it's more like a boat ride through all sorts of wonders, the director showing a subtler hand. A salaryman is assigned to visit deepest China to track down a rumored lode of high-quality jade. Accompanied by a small group of explorers (including a grizzled yazuka), they have difficulties finding the jade, but instead find a tribe of "bird people." The children, according to recent legend, had the ability to float among the nearby peaks on light wooden wings, but even the oldest of the children -- a blue-eyed Chinese girl -- carries the wings only as a symbol. They seem to have long since forgotten how to fly, if indeed they ever had. But now it seems, for various reasons, they may never leave this forgotten paradise. This Japanese/Chinese co-production may take some aggressive work to find, but its rewards are many. If you're not delighted by the turtles, then wait for the awe-inspiring conclusion.