Fly With the Crane

Reviewed by Sandra Doyle. Viewed at the Metropolitan 4 Theatre, Santa Barbara International Film Festival. East meets West in “Fly With the Crane” and American audiences might experience this culture clash and have a hard time appreciating the work of Chinese director Li Ruijun. The film is all in Mandarin and gives a personal look at family dynamics and religious beliefs within the Chinese culture. Set in a small village following the contrast between the generations, elders and youngsters seem to connect more with each other than with the middle aged villagers. A patient film full of foreshadowing and symbolism “Fly With the Crane” focuses on Ma, an old villager and grandfather and his burial wishes. Interestingly enough, Ma does not fear death itself but instead cannot accept the possibility of being cremated. Ma desires to be buried in a coffin as opposed to the government mandated cremation because of his spiritual beliefs that you must be buried for the white crane to come and take you on its back and fly you to heaven. If he is cremated he fears he will turn into a puff of smoke and the white crane will not be able to take him to his afterlife. His children are insensitive to his wish and have accepted the new ways, but his grandchildren understand and devise a plan to save his soul. Dying does not concern this elderly man because he sees it as merely a transition, but he does seem worried when this is jeopardized. Considering Western culture tends to avoid the topic of death, watching “Fly With the Crane” is an opportunity for growth and to become more comfortable with this inevitable concept. The extremely long takes and scenes build tension and realism. Yet at the same time it detracts, and it becomes unentertaining and thus distracting. But exposing death and willingly greeting it is something in need of focus. Artfully done, Li Ruijun pushes boundaries with “Fly With the Crane” and had many repeating themes such as the unnerving buzzing of flies serving as a reminder that nature will one day feed off of your corpse, if you’re not cremated that is. Ma and his grandson clog chimneys multiple times so the smoke cannot rise and fills the house beneath it. Watching the smoke unfurl in the air Ma cannot bear to join it one day. The camera work was at times tactfully repetitive and editing was minimal, allowing the scene to unfold from the actors and action on the screen. Most shots avoided being invasive, with little to none extreme close ups. While I appreciated the message, cinematography, and repeating themes I found this film particularly hard to watch and was somewhat uninterested for the majority of it. Without wanting to disclose the ending in detail, I found it rather disturbing and was so shocked that I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this film to the average movie-goer because they will most likely not be too pleased. But for those looking for something artistically genius and original “Fly With the Crane” might be for you as long as you maintain an open mind.