After watching The Bird People in China again for this review of its official DVD release, I felt really thankful for having an opportunity to revisit it, for, while it was quite obvious from the beginning that it was a great film, I found that it only got better on repeated viewings.

For those of you who missed my initial, 'super-advance' review of Bird People (or for those who would like a refresher), I'll provide my original plot synopsis, as I was rather pleased with it...

Bird People tells the story of a handsome young Japanese businessman's trip to a remote mountain village in China. He's there to investigate the purity of a vein of jade running through this village's land, since his company is interested in mining there. As he is about to set off on his journey with his Chinese guide, he meets a yakuza who has been assigned to travel to the village with him. Apparently the businessman's boss is into the mob for some money, and the gang has decided that it will take a cut of the jade profits. Unsurprisingly, the rude and obnoxious yakuza and the quiet, polite businessman form a bit of an odd couple, which makes their journey quite interesting. The film's first 45 minutes chronicle their voyage, and this portion of the movie seems like kind of a restrained Asian variation of American 'buddy road-trip' films - think Dude, Where's my Jade? or Salaryman and Yakuza Go to Mountain Village. Among other happenings on their voyage, the group's car breaks down, their clothes get washed away in a flood, and they even end up getting high on mushrooms (in a typically-goofy Miike digression reminiscent of Happiness of the Katakuris), as all the while the yakuza and the businessman get on each other's nerves.

When the duo finally arrives at the village, it finds one of those scenic secret hamlets that are so perfect that they may or may not even exist in real life, but which are nevertheless nice to dream of when watching movies. While staying in the village to investigate the jade vein, our businessman observes the people's quiet lives. During the day the grown villagers work in the fields while the children go to 'school,' where they strap on wings carved out of wood and learn how to fly. Their teacher is a pretty woman whose father supposedly flew in from the sky. He's dead now, and all she has left from him are the knowledge of how to fly and a song she sings in broken English.

Both visitors are fascinated by the place - the businessman by the girl's sad song, and the yakuza by the village's unspoiled purity. To reveal much more about their discoveries in the village would be to ruin things, but rest assured that the film's remaining hour is absolutely magical and, needless to say, an enchanting viewing experience.

(We're now returning to new content, just so you know.) Of course, all of the views expressed in the above paragraphs still stand; however, after another viewing, I'd like to stress them even further. Even more than most Takashi Miike films, Bird People is one that deserves to be re-watched several times in order to be truly appreciated. The initial viewing, like that of all the other films in the Miike canon, is more about destroying your expectations than anything else; it's days or perhaps even weeks after that you really begin to realize how much the movie has gotten under your skin.

Anyway, that feeling hit me like a brick a little while ago, and at that point I really began to appreciate this film even more. Bird People is one of Miike's finest efforts, a tender, observant and touching drama and character study set against a beautifully-photographed mountain paradise. What's truly so fascinating, however, about Miike's film is that, while there are so many other movies about bored big-city characters finding themselves in colorful rural locations, Miike, as always, never succumbs to the cliches of his genre. Bird People understands that, while it might seem so, getting back to nature isn't going to solve all of one's problems in life, and, without giving away its ending, I can say that the conclusion the film reaches is one so level-headed that few other films would have had the courage to use it. All in all, Bird People, while not a 'typical' Takashi Miike production, is nevertheless a haunting and powerful film, innovative in execution, and well worth checking out and revisiting.

As for Artsmagic's DVD release, it is a duly respectful presentation of a film that deserves nothing but the best. Transfer-wise, everything seemed good to me, with the film's palate of rich jade greens and earthen golds all well-represented. English subtitles (removable) are also presented and are all well-timed and generally free from error. Japanese subtitles for Chinese-language portions also appear on the print (burned-in), though since this seems to happen on various Miike releases, I'm willing to suspect that it was unavoidable, and so I see no point in faulting Artsmagic.

Extras-wise, Artsmagic has, as usual, assembled a fine package. Starting things off are several cast and director bios; the film's theatrical trailer; trailers for the three films in Miike's Black Society Trilogy (Shinjuku Triad Society, Rainy Dog and Ley Lines); promotional materials for Bird People with optional English translation for Japanese text; and the history and lyrics (two versions) of 'Annie Laurie,' the haunting Scottish folksong sung in the film.

Moving on, we get to the proverbial 'meat' of the package. First off is one of Artsmagic's requisite interviews with Takashi Miike, which, as usual, proves informative and worthwhile viewing. In this 18-minute piece, Miike provides a good deal of background on the project as well as some interesting production stories and talks about the place the film holds in his life, too.

Finally, things wrap up with another great commentary by Tom Mes, who is in as fine a form here as he has ever been. Rarely pausing, he discusses everything from themes and symbols to the movie's use of color to its particular place in the 'adventures in a far-off land' sub-genre of filmmaking. The Mes commentary is absolutely essential for anyone who wishes to truly understand what a fantastic film he's watching, and it really made me realize how much I missed this man's helpful observations on the two Young Thugs disks. After all, anyone who can mention Guitar Wolf and Francois Truffaut in the same commentary has to be close to genius, now doesn't he?

In the end, I really can't praise Bird People in China enough; it's a profoundly powerful and amazingly beautiful film that will only continue to grow in its viewer's mind after it has concluded. After that, you will surely find yourself aching to see it again, and that's where Artsmagic's fantastic presentation and critical supplements will come in handy. Again, I can't urge you strongly enough to go give this one a try; it is unequivocally, most definitely worth it.

http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/thebirdpeopleinchina