The Bird People in China 1998

When Mr. Okamura is sidelined by a hernia, Mr. Wada Masahiro Motoki is sent to replace him and assess a jade vein hidden in a remote village in Yunnan, China. His Chinese guide Shen Mako can speak Japanese but communicates in limited English, which creates moments of miscommunication as they trek through rugged terrain. A money-minded yakuza enforcer named Ujiie Renji Ishibashi makes it clear that Wada’s company owes him money and forces him to bring Ujiie along to settle the debt with precious stones. Along the way, they cross paths with a Japanese researcher who has traced carvings of bird-people across Japan and believes Yunnan could be the cradle of this culture.

After a storm wipes out their belongings and papers, the travelers reach the village and meet a blue-eyed Si-chang Yan, Li Li Wang, who runs a school teaching students to fly as bird-people, trained by diagrams from manuscripts left by her grandfather, a Royal Air Force pilot who crashed nearby years earlier. The group studies the English translation of an ancient book found in the area, and Mr. Wada translates it from English into Japanese at Ujiie’s request, weaving together two languages in a tense collaboration. The enigmatic school and its daring lessons become a focal point for the story.

Powered by the discovery of jade, the village’s future seems bright—electricity, new opportunities, and a potential boost in tourism. But Ujiie fears that modern wealth will bring crime and upheaval to their preserved way of life. He acts with ruthless practicality, even killing the tortoises used to pull their raft, and he later threatens to shoot Mr. Wada, Shen, and the ferryman to deter outsiders from exploiting the village. In a dramatic turn, Wada persuades him to test a bold plan: to fly using the artificial wings taught at the school, though the attempt ends in a crash that reshapes everyone’s path.

In the years that follow, Ujiie becomes the village development advisor, steering the community from behind the scenes, while Mr. Wada returns to Japan and starts a family. The journey leaves viewers contemplating the tensions between progress and preservation, and the ways a distant expedition can ripple through lives long after the voyage ends.