Original subtitles

Production Company Hone Film & Marubeni Corporation

Co-production Company Sedic International & Yomiko Advertising

Since my birth, I've slept more than 10,000 times.

But I've never dreamt of being able to fly like a bird.

THE BIRD PEOPLE IN CHINA

This is the sound of a moving train in Yun Nan, China.

The news is: this is where I am now.

Ah...for the past few days,

I had to cope with...

both my former assignment and a new one which jumped in.

It's been so chaotic that I haven't had time to record my diary.

Things have finally settled a bit now.

That's why I'm recording this.

This business trip was decided about a week ago.

Ah...I guess it was about then.

Originally, concerning the stones in Asia,

Mr. Okamura was in charge.

But, with this and that,

Mr. Okamura was rushed to the hospital.

What led to that concerns Mr. Okamura's privacy,

so I will refrain from recording it.

The fact is, I've been chosen to replace him,

and have been sent to Yun Nan.

I don't know how it'll turn out,

but when the manager begged me,

I couldn't refuse.

But concerning stones such as jade,

I have very limited knowledge about them.

I would be lying...

if I said I were confident about it.

I've been busy as hell...

and don't exactly remember what I've been doing the past few days.

I even had a wild wish that the airplane would fly slower.

Anyway, I came to China for the first time,

and am now on a train.

If I keep riding this train, it would go to Cheng Du.

I am...

I'm supposed to get off at...

I don't know how to pronounce it.

I'm supposed to meet the guide there, who knows about the vein of jade.

I hear his English is hopeless, but he's fluent in Japanese.

I'll ask him to record later.

Bye for now.

P.S. Judging from what I ate a while ago...

the food here seems to be high in fat.

I might have to watch the calories.

Maybe...

Japanese? It's a Japanese song.

What?

From your fine attire, I presume you are Mr. Wada.

Mr. Shen?

Please speak into it.

It's running.

I'm Shen.

I've met Mr. Wada for the first time.

I'll give him a whole-hearted welcome.

Is this okay? I'm bashful.

Thank you very much.

You're a pervert.

Mr. Wada has arrived.

Mr. Shen...

Please. Please get in.

Thank you.

Hey, you. When do you expect to eat?

Oh, ah...

Whenever you two are hungry.

Okay. Okay.

What? Stop.

Move over.

You're the one.

My, my, how nice to see this.

Best memory of that summer.

So you brought along a companion with you after all.

You must tell me beforehand, or else I would be confused.

Close it.

Excuse me. Who are you?

My companion?

Mr. Shen.

Get out.

Don't be fucking cute.

You're supposed to welcome me and show me around, huh?

Why're you doing this?

I don't know what's going on.

I really don't know.

I heard you. I know what's going on.

But I don't.

You guys...

I came to make sure you're not eating the candy alone.

Candy...?

That's a metaphor, dummy. Is your brain fucked up?

Because your company hasn't paid back the money we loaned,

I've come to collect. Get it?

I have to deal with this idiot.

Okamura isn't faking his illness, is he?

No. He's really in the hospital.

I've got one of my men watching him,

so if you're lying...

I'm telling the truth.

It's the truth.

Why did he suddenly get the hernia?

If you're lying, I'll give you a hernia, too.

I'm telling the truth.

Excuse me...

What?

What is this debt you're talking about?

Your company kept stalling the payment with some fucking excuses.

But finally gave us word that you'd pay us back...

with this precious stone or something.

You brought us this story about a vein of precious stones.

Then you suddenly said it was no good.

"Wait a bit more" my ass.

- Are you talking about jade? - Yeah, that.

You know about it.

But, listen to this.

After a while,

in the same area where they found the stones...

a major jeweler found a different vein, a big one.

Oh, yes. You mean that American jeweler.

Did you sell the information and get the kick-back?

No, of course not!

I don't give a fuck,

but my boss and other members of the family firmly believe so.

He doesn't want that to happen again.

That's why I ended up here.

Hey, Ujiie.

You like Chinese food, don't you?

Don't you?

Get it? Huh?

Think of it as a chance to enjoy genuine Chinese food.

Chinese food...

Hey. The door is gone.

What's happened to the...?

It's this car's door.

The door.

The door.

Door. Door.

Terrific way to start out.

Hey, that...

Hey, why's he starting the car?

What about the door?

The door. The door.

It's because he has no rope today.

Rope?

Hey. Hey. Wait a minute.

Wait. Dammit.

Okay. Okay.

Nobody will steal that door. Possibility very low.

Dammit.

I'm not worried about the fucking door.

What the fuck? I saw that.

Did you see what I saw?

I saw it, too.

The dead-beat driver is whistling.

Change the car. How can I ride in this?!

God damn!

Can you believe it?

This is Yun Nan, and my butt is sore.

Now, behind a thin wall...

a yakuza is taking a shower.

I must sleep with him in the same room.

The piece...

The piece...

There's no hot water.

Shen. Shen.

Dirt-bag.

The water's cold.

You came all this way. Why don't you look around a bit, you tasteless bastard?

I'm here to work. Must study a bit.

They're only stones.

You don't care about the quality of...

Fuck you.

Watch your mouth.

Any complaints?

Take it easy. This town will soon have an airport.

Then work will be easy.

More ethnic costumes, more tourism.

Then, you can look after him better next year.

There's one thing I'd like to confirm.

Our so-called destination...

For us foreigners,

it's in the restricted area, isn't it?

In such a place, would it be possible to do business?

Okay. Okay.

It's restricted, but it's not a military zone.

Go and see if it's worth business.

If you think it's good then, anything's possible in recent China.

Then how come foreigners can't go in?

Because it's a real remote place.

The committee doesn't know it well, either.

There's an old man who doesn't know about Mao Tse-tung.

About him being dead?

No, about such a man existing.

Good evening.

Are you here on business?

Good luck.

Hey. He's Japanese.

You forgot something?

Thank you very much.

- What's this? - A man with wings.

Is it from ancient times?

Yes, it was found in the upper part of Hokkaido.

Also in Kyushu.

At the northern and southern tips of Japan.

I came to look for them here.

Here? I see.

Hey, let me see.

Have they found the same thing in China?

Well, not yet.

But they say the Yun Nan area is the origin of the Japanese culture.

Legends such as "Hagoromo" still remain.

What was that about?

The beautiful woman?

The woman who flew down from Heaven.

So that's why.

Great dreams.

Are you a romantic?

No, nothing like that.

Goodbye.

I hope you find it.

The woman from Heaven.

Yes.

Mr. Ujiie, I didn't know you...

- What? - Ah...nothing.

Hey. Wait.

The umbrella.

Dammit.

Come here.

Goddamn it.

It was fine. Why rain all of a sudden?

But I've got stomach trouble.

Can't quit now. Dammit.

You want to take a crap, too?

Do it.

Join the fucking embarrassment.

Why are you looking down on me?

You wanna die young?

Ouch! Goddamn.

What're you stopping for?

Oh, shit.

This is fucking terrific.

The road ends here.

Carry your own luggage.

After we enter the village, we have to climb one mountain.

What the...?

Okay. Okay.

You already came 90% of the way. Just a bit more.

Going through all this fucking trouble just for money?

If it weren't work, I wouldn't be...

And you, Mr. Ujiie?

Fuck you.

I gotta set an example to my men.

Goddamn it.

What the hell am I doing?

Don't fuck with me.

Don't fuck with me, you dirt-bag!

Don't fuck with me!

How is it?

You've got your passport, haven't you?

Forget about the things you can't find.

Forget it.

They're only clothes and things.

Our bags were blown away by the storm...

and the precious documents...

became breakfast for the goats.

The village. The village.

We've arrived. We've reached the village.

Fuck you all. We've made it.

Hello...hello...hello...

We must have the power to draw electricity to this place.

Huh?

Hey...

Now that we've reached the village, we'll look at the fucking stones and leave.

I'll buy you clothes.

- No thank you. - Come on.

No thank you.

Come on.

Don't be a sour-puss.

You get on my fucking nerves. You're a real smart ass.

Hey, hey, hey.

Sorry. I'm sorry.

Which is it? Are you sorry or not?

I'm sorry. I said I'm sorry.

Don't think you can boss me around all the time.

You yakuza dick-head.

I've had it with you.

- Damn you. - You slimy bastard.

What the hell is that?

Something to instantly blow your brains out.

Never heard the real thing, have you?

No, no, no. Love and peace. Love and peace.

You have to be friends.

I got the boat.

A boat? What...?

It floats on water and people get on.

I fucking know that!

Isn't this the destination?

No. Two more days.

Two more days?

You said we've come 90% of the way.

Mr. Ujiie, came from Tokyo, huh?

That doesn't fucking count, dammit.

What the...? What's going on?

What in the world is this?

With power.

Probably the nicest power for Earth's environment.

P...power?

Power?...For what?

For that. Over there.

That's a fucking raft.

In Japan, we call that a "raft".

Japanese is so difficult.

What's with him?

He's from around here. He'll never go down-stream.

Up stream is where living things are born.

Down stream is where things die, he thinks.

But it's okay.

Because of that belief...

almost nobody knows this route.

The way to death.

The way to death.

The way to death.

The way to death.

The way to death.

Okay. It's only superstition.

What the fuck? What the fuck?!

Whaddya know.

This is fucking elegant.

Where...Where am I?

Shen, you dirt-bag. You fucking bastard.

They're delicious. Aren't they toadstools?

It's a local delicacy.

You fool.

You're fucking right.

Come to think of it, Yun Nan... Yun Nan Province isn't at all bad.

Right, kid?

Yun Nan is paradise.

Kid, come over here.

Come on. Eat this toadstool.

My young companion, eat this.

Eat the toadstool.

You could be in trouble eating that.

Please stop it.

Eat it by yourself?

I'm not hungry yet. I can hang on for a while.

Then I'll feed you.

Eat it.

Alright. I'll eat it.

You want me to eat it?

I'll eat it.

How is it? Delicious, huh?

Wow. Here it comes.

Ain't it fucking exotic?

"Exotic"?

Where on earth are we anyway?

Serves you fucking right.

What day of the week is it today?

Hey, hey. Shen. Shen.

You'll catch cold.

Mr. Shen, how much more will it take?

What will?

The village. The jade village.

Oh...ah, there.

Bit more. Bit more. Okay. It's okay.

Have you been told where to go?

Only as far as you take me.

Know the destination?

You haven't told me where it is.

Why in the world are we here?

Mr. Shen...Mr. Shen...

Where is this?

Who am I?

Where are we suppose to go?

I can't remember anything.

Don't fuck with me.

Wrack your brains, you bastard.

What the fuck? Say it in Japanese.

I said, say it in Japanese.

I'll kill you.

What are you doing?

Mr. Shen, search your memory.

In Japanese. In Japanese. In Japanese. In Japanese.

Please...Please stop it.

His memory's back.

You dirt-bag.

Anyway...We can go back to where we got out of the car.

Remember the mountain trail?

It was fucking confusing.

I knew this is the Land of Death.

We've come to the Land of Death.

Ah...Hello...Excuse me.

Anyway, let's go back to the village and...

Hey.

Wait.

Excuse me.

Oh, it's you.

I'm so glad to see you.

Hey, dirt-bag, are we here? Is this it?

Is this the jade...?

Huh? What's that?

Get a grip of yourself.

Is this the jade village?

We've arrived, huh?

They want you to wear it.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

He's the mayor.

How do you do? My name is Wada.

These old people don't understand Mandarin.

I don't think so.

Good evening.

He says thank you for coming so far.

Hey...Hey...

I'm Ujiie. How do you do?

First time I met a mayor. Huh? Hey, hey. Pop.

We're not welcome.

Please sit down.

Anyway, that's how we were miraculously saved.

There are more things I want to record, but I'll do that when I return.

I lost my things in the mountains

and there are no spare batteries in this God-forsaken place.

The piece...

The yakuza is having nightmares again.

Would you like a break?

This is fantastic. Really fantastic.

What's that?

I do not know how to translate...

They are studying at school to become...flying people.

We call them "bird people."

There's such a school?

An old superstition... the shame of the village.

"Shame"?

Mr. Ujiie.

Where is that school?

On the other side of this mountain?

She teaches what her grandfather taught her.

But she doesn't understand it well.

When her grandfather died, village elders wanted her to continue the school.

Couldn't your grandpa fly?

Ask her.

She never saw him.

Then...what do you think?

Can you fly with these?

Come on. Ask her.

She doesn't know.

But you said before you could fly.

This legend about flying...

Is it from a long time ago?

Yes, a long time ago.

But it had been forgotten.

But then, her demented grandfather came to village and again...

Since he came? Where did he come from?

Out of sky.

Her grandfather...

From the sky.

Hello.

There's no use talking to him.

He had fever two years ago, and can't hear since then.

He was a master lute player. He's no good now. Poor man.

Mr. Ujiie, let's go.

Jade. Precious stones.

You go. I won't recognize them anyway.

This place is fantastic.

Mr. Ujiie.

Mr. Ujiie.

Where did you get that?

It was given to me.

I asked to borrow it, but he gave it to me.

They used to use rope before.

It often wore out and people died.

Tell me that later.

Look at this. It's jade.

This, of course, is in the rough.

This is the best quality jade.

The sparkles are so different.

This could be an extraordinary vein of jade.

It was really worth the trouble.

Mr. Ujiie, let's go together, tomorrow.

Come on. This is more fun for me.

Mr. Ujiie, what would you be doing around this time?

I'm usually having some drinks.

I often think on such trips...

that since the birth of Earth,

is there anywhere where mankind has never set foot?

There may be places like that.

If so, imagine the repetition of day and night.

Don't you think it's terrific?

Day and night, day and night, for billions of years?

However, I have to go back to work.

Do you want to go back the same route we came?

Better wait for the dirt-bag to regain his memory.

Where are you going?

For a night stroll.

A yakuza routine.

Find the turtles.

Not even one left.

Yes...I see that.

When we are forsaken by luck, we are unlucky all the way.

Even the turtles have forsaken us.

Ah...I understand how you feel, but please, try to be calm.

Could I have been gay?

Teacher, please teach us.

It's nobody's fault.

We weren't fooling around or anything.

Yeah, it's nobody's fault.

We might have to wait for two or three days.

Here you are.

How's it going?

We're all trying.

It's a very complicated story.

First, her grandfather found a book-like thing about village legend from long ago.

And it had method of flying in it?

And the villagers thought it was only some fairy tale.

Grandfather found evidence.

He dug it out of ground outside the village.

And the wings you see now were recreated from this book of legends.

And this is that book of legends.

How do you read such a thing?

This is what her grandfather rewrote.

Is it in English?

Her eyes are blue because...

♪ Maxwellton braes are bonnie, ♪ ♪ Where early fa's the dew, ♪

♪ And it's there that Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ Gave me her promise true. ♪

♪ Gave me her promise true, ♪ ♪ Which ne'er forgot will be, ♪

I've heard this tune before.

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me... ♪

Continue on. Continue...

Continue on. It's...

Is it popular now. What is...

Hey, is it English?

I think she has an accent.

She says there's something connected to her grandfather in a pond over there.

It came from India.

India?

It was a British colony.

This is an English plane.

I know more about such things than you businessmen.

Then he was flying here on some mission.

And fucking crashed.

And lived in this village since then.

Grandfather.

Grandmother.

Father and mother.

They're...all dead?

The grandpa died last.

The grave's still new.

What's this?

A bird person.

Bird person?

I wonder what kind of a life it was?

I don't know.

I don't know about myself. I know less about other people.

You can translate English, can't you?

Well, so so. I still have my dictionary.

Your dictionary?

An electronic dictionary.

Then do it.

This notebook seems to be a diary.

This batch must be the translation of the ancient book.

I see.

But how did he translate the book?

Maybe he was used to decoding things for military intelligence.

And the grandfather seems to have had trouble with the translation.

It must have been some kind of a manual.

Imagine a foreigner, with no such background, trying to...

Could translate it completely wrong.

That's why if I try to translate that,

it may end up being quite different from the original.

You have a point, but...

Oh, yes, and that diary.

It's quite touching.

I only had a quick look...

the writing gets smaller and smaller towards the end.

The last passage...

What is it?

"This is the end. From tomorrow, the mornings will be different."

"This is the end. From tomorrow, the mornings will be different."

Probably, from the next day...

the grandfather ceased to be English.

That's...a real man.

This place...

Where could this be?

This is a god. A god.

A god!

Tough luck.

Yan Si-chang.

Yes, that's right.

Don't worry. Don't worry.

Please.

It wasn't neat.

Not neat, it's nee...

Which never forgot will be.

Means never, never forget.

Ne'er. It's the abbreviated form. So it's...

Which ne'er forgot will be.

♪ Her brow is like the snowdrift, ♪ ♪ Her neck is like a swan, ♪

♪ Her face it is the fairest, ♪ ♪ That e'er the sun shone on. ♪

♪ That e'er the sun shone on, ♪ ♪ And dark blue is her eye, ♪

♪ And for bonnie Annie... ♪

The batteries... Please don't give up now.

How is it? Can we fly?

Let's talk about that later.

Pity falls and dies.

Mr. Shen.

Like dew on a flowery field,

she walks like a fairy.

Like sweet winds of the summer,

she whispers low and sweet.

I can no longer hear her voice.

What she says is all the world to me.

And for bonnie Annie Laurie,

I can almost die.

It's not an accurate translation.

Embarrassing words. I can't translate them.

Please.

I know why... You must have fallen in love.

No...it's...

The rain's coming.

Promise, vow, pledge...

Si-chang.

Si-chang.

Si-chang.

Gave me her promise true...

Grandfather probably had a sweetheart back home.

Doing well over there?

Mr. Wada.

Mr. Wada.

Hey, Mr. Shen. What happened?

Okay. Okay. I presume you are Mr. Wada.

I know you. I...

Did you...

Yes, I have risen like a phoenix.

I was totally lost in this cold, cruel world.

I now remember who I am.

That's great. Congratulations.

We can go back, we need one more turtle. It won't be long.

Leave it to us.

We want to do business.

We want our village to be wealthy.

The boat can be pulled by five turtles...

But he wants all six turtles.

That man...He is really pervert.

He seems to have a lot of affection for them.

Where's Mr. Ujiie?

I don't know.

I think...

I'm going to die.

Please return that to me.

I was thinking of wearing that on the way back.

Going back?

You really want to go back that bad?

You fucking parasite.

What do you mean "fucking parasite"?

You want to dig up the whole village all for money, money, money?

How can you say that?

You came to collect money.

I will leave it to the young people.

If I were young now,

I would probably choose the same way.

One knows not the value of what he owns...

until it is lost, and one understands not the luxury of giving it up.

I shall leave it to you.

What did he say?

Have no idea.

We'll finally have electricity in our village.

Si-chang.

Si-chang.

♪ Maxwellton braes are bonnie, ♪ ♪ Where early fa's the dew, ♪

♪ And it's there that Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ Gave me her promise true. ♪

♪ Gave me her promise true, ♪ ♪ Which ne'er forgot will be, ♪

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me doon and dee. ♪

♪ Her brow is like the snowdrift, ♪ ♪ Her neck is like a swan, ♪

♪ Her face it is the fairest, ♪ ♪ That e'er the sun shone on. ♪

♪ That e'er the sun shone on, ♪ ♪ And dark blue is her eye, ♪

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me doon and dee. ♪

♪ Like dew on th' gowan lying, ♪ ♪ Is the fa' o' her fairy feet, ♪

♪ And like winds in summer sighing, ♪ ♪ Her voice is low and sweet. ♪

♪ Her voice is low and sweet, ♪ ♪ And she's a' the world to me, ♪

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me doon and dee. ♪

We are ready. We must leave.

That yakuza has reached the peak of insanity.

Mr. Wada, what would you be doing? We wish to leave at dawn.

It took time for Mr. Ujiie to fall asleep.

Let's go.

Mr. Wada, untie the rope.

Okay.

What?

It's no good saying you forgot something.

No. We can't go now.

We can't leave a lunatic like that in the village.

I take you to be a fool.

Do you wish to be killed?

That lunatic has come! That lunatic has come!

Mr. Wada, hurry up. Hurry up, Mr. Wada.

Mr. Wada, where are you...?

Mr. Wada, hurry up and come back.

Mr. Wada.

Mr. Wada.

Mr. Ujiie!

We can't let rotten civilization enter the village.

What nonsense.

It's no concern of yours, asshole.

This is the last stronghold.

We can't let this be a fucking country like ours.

This planet is finished.

Don't take me from my kids.

I'll protect this village.

Suppose the villagers don't want that.

They'll understand later.

Don't you understand?

Yan-Wo lost his hearing and Si-chang lost her parents.

Such tragedies would decrease...

if they had better medicine and tools.

Must make a choice.

No matter what, we can't stop what's coming.

Don't take me from my kids.

I understand how you feel...

but you must think about how we came to be in this village.

How did we get here, anyway?

We wouldn't be here if there weren't planes and trains.

I didn't stake my life to come here in search of the truth or anything.

But I was able meet all those people...

here in the Yun Nan mountains and I came across that song.

I really consider myself lucky.

I owe it all to the things you try to deny, Mr. Ujiie.

Then, what can we do?

Are you saying that we should just watch this place wither?

We can make a new tradition.

Establish a village-owned company and set down regulations...

which prohibit excessive digging...

and protect what should be kept and get the best of both worlds.

When a dam is broken, the water will gush in.

Never underestimate human adaptability.

How do you teach that to those fucking kids?

Why don't we fly?

Mr. Ujiie.

Do you really believe you can fly with those wings?

If you believe so, let's do it.

If we fly, we can show them how things should be.

Then our clients will see they should abide by the regulations.

This one has gone mad, too.

If we fly, they'll be convinced.

Aren't there any rules about the method of breathing?

Wouldn't it be better to hold our breath?

Since then...

30 years have passed.

We stayed in the village until our visas almost ran out...

and then returned to Japan.

I'm sure it applies to everyone...

but for me, the past decades were neither smooth nor easy.

People's predictions and intuitions...

in general, become true...

more often than you expect.

After a while,

I returned to that village once again,

but wasn't able to settle there for the rest of my life.

Since then I've slept thousands of times...

but I have never seen a dream of myself flying.

Mr. Ujiie took the post of the village development advisor...

in exchange for one of his fingers.

He still stays in that village.

I received a letter from him yesterday.

I was so glad, I thought my heart would burst.

Even though I'm rarely able...

to experience such a feeling, it makes me think...

my life is worth living.

I want to visit the village again.

This time, I want to take my wife and son along.

Since then, and since I haven't done it for such a long time...

can I still fly?

I feel it's so strange,

that I cannot dream of...

what I actually did.

I want my son to enjoy the flavor of it, too.

At that moment,

I suddenly remembered my father's smile.

Perhaps...

it was like the first time I was able to ride a bicycle.

P.S.

The tape with that girl's song...

burned in a fire and became ashes.

It no longer exists.

♪ Maxwellton braes are bonnie, ♪ ♪ Where early fa's the dew, ♪ Starring:

♪ And it's there that Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ Gave me her promise true. ♪ Masahiro Motoki as Wada

♪ Gave me her promise true, ♪ ♪ Which ne'er forgot will be, ♪ Renji Ishibashi as Ujiie

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me doon and dee. ♪ Li Li Wang as Yan Si-chang

♪ Her brow is like the snowdrift, ♪ ♪ Her neck is like a swan, ♪ Mako as Shen

♪ Her face it is the fairest, ♪ ♪ That e'er the sun shone on. ♪ Based on a novel by Makato Shiina

♪ That e'er the sun shone on, ♪ ♪ And dark blue is her eye, ♪ Screenplay by Masa Nakamura

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me doon and dee. ♪ Produced by Hiroyuki Tsuji, Norio Watanabe & Seiha Oji

♪ Like dew on th' gowan lying, ♪ ♪ Is the fa'o' her fairy feet, ♪ Director of Photography- Hideo Yamamoto

♪ And like winds in summer sighing, ♪ ♪ Her voice is low and sweet. ♪ Edited by Yasushi Shimamura

♪ Her voice is low and sweet, ♪ ♪ And she's a' the world to me, ♪ Music by Koji Endo

♪ And for bonnie Annie Laurie, ♪ ♪ I lay me doon and dee. ♪ Directed by Takashi Miike