Fly with the Crane (Li Ruijun, 2012): China

Reviewed by Cecilia Gonzalez. Viewed at Metropolitan Metro 4, Santa Barbara.

Purity, life, freedom, that is what I found that the crane represented in the film Fly with the Crane. It was a beautiful appreciation of life and all it has to offer film. A film with a beautiful story of old life and new life. Its intense color of red in the film represents to me the passion, and intense appreciation for life that the grandfather in the film had. From my perspective, the crane represented freedom, and the freedom he thrived on having once he left the earth peacefully.
The conflict of the film was that the elderly were being cremated, and Grandpa believed that when you are cremated you aren’t able to fly with the cranes to the more peaceful place. It was a very powerful spiritual belief that Grandpa held. The cremation process particularly took place for the death of the young, and wasn’t usually used on the elderly.
The traditional way of burying an elderly person was to create a tombstone that was in the shape of a circle with a pile of dirt on top of it. Beautifully painted coffins are ordained with pictures of creatures such as cranes that represent freedom and peace. Children play a significant role in this film n relation to the freedom and innocence which plays in this films story. The children so badly want to know what is going on, but are shunned away from the real problem. The elderly are being cremated, and grandpa believes that the only way to bury the young. He also believes that if you are cremated, your spirit can’t fly with the cranes. They want to help the adults with the issues and controversy that may be arising about the burial conflict, but also want to use their imagination to play and be young and free.
The children take part in a unique game that requires them to bury each other in dirt, and count how long each can stay buried. This game looked strange at first, but then the relationship between that simple game in this lower class village played by the children, and the elderly became connected. Because the elderly were being buried in this very simple way–without a coffin, and just buried under a pile of dirt that was believed to allow you to fly with the beautiful cranes, the game became common, comical, and beautiful in its own way, especially after seeing the smiles of the children playing it.
The beautiful lush green fields are captured in a wide-angle perspective, and exposes all the beauty of this beautiful Chinese film. The grandfather captured my mind’s attention as to what it means to die peacefully. He lays himself to rest in the way that he chooses, as well as in the place of his choice. He wants to be buried in the way that will best allow him to fly with the cranes to that peaceful place we all hope to go to.