The Bird People in China

"The children of the sky."

1998 1h 58m JA

👍

7.2

SOLID

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 92★7.4IMDB · 4,974

AdventureDramaComedyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Wada, a salary man, is enlisted to venture off to China to investigate a potential Jade mine. After his arrival, Wada encounters a violent, yet sentimental, yakuza, who takes the liberty of joining his adventure through China. Led on their long and disastrous journey to the mine by Shen, the three men come across something even more magical and enticing.

“The children of the sky.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Masahiro Motoki
Wada
Renji Ishibashi
Ujiie
Mako
Shen
Li Li Wang
Si-chang Yan
Yūichi Minato
Tomohiko Okuda
Manzo Shinra
Michiko Kichise

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Masaru Nakamura
Languages: Japanese, Mandarin, English
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Japanese, Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Masahiro Motoki and Renji Ishibashi and Mako carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The children of the sky.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Hideo Yamamoto behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Yasushi Shimamura cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese, Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

128 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Japanese, Mandarin, English.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Masahiro Motoki and Renji Ishibashi and Mako carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The children of the sky.".
9IMDB entry: tt0142181 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 92 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hideo Yamamoto
Original score: Koji Endo
Editing: Yasushi Shimamura
Production design: Keiko Mitsumatsu
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: The Bird People in China (1998)
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 4,974 votes
MPAA: TV-PG

Awards

4 wins & 1 nomination

Also by

Takashi Miike

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2023-12-04
★ 9/10
What a delightful and complete surprise coming out of Takashi Miike! The first part of the movie is hilarious. I was thinking it would look like this if Herzog and Kinski were accidentally cast as the two protagonists in a Takashi Yakuza movie! At the end, I decided that this film is very Fellini-esque. Sure, there's the obvious capitalist vs Nature struggle on the surface. But the story has something much deeper to say and it's been captured well by this team. And very much like Fellini, it's a deep look into human personal Weltanschauung.

Production companies