Annie Laurie in Japanese film: The Bird People in China

[Jerry]

There's a wonderful scenic film from Japan depicting a commercial attempt to exploit minerals in China, getting side tracked into a remote mountainous region where the natives have never heard of Mao-Tse-Tung. I just found it a sweet travelogue. In this far off village the local teacher sings a song of Annie Laurie, learned from her grandfather, an outsider whose plane crashed there in the 1930s or 40s. The DVD jacket says Director Miike turns his comic vision into the only truly overwhelming adventure -- the hunt for value.

 

The main character, Masahiro Motoki, was also the earnest young man in DEPARTURES, where a classical musician, out of work, trains in funeral procedures. Both DVDs are time well spent.