Ben Niao

I sat down to watch the 2017 Chinese drama "Ben Niao" (aka "The Foolish Bird") here in 2023 without ever having heard about it prior to watching it. However, I will say that the synopsis for this movie from writers and directors Ji Huang and Ryûji Otsuka definitely sounded interesting.

However, the reality of the movie was something else entirely. The narrative in "Ben Niao" was just excruciatingly slow paced and monotonous, which made for an insanely boring viewing experience. And to make matters worse nothing worthwhile happened throughout the course of the 65 minutes that I endured out of the total of 118 minutes run time. But by then, since nothing had happened and the pacing of the narrative was so slow it could kill a dead man once again, then I just simply gave up.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but it hardly mattered because nothing interesting or worthwhile watching transpired on the screen.

This is a movie that I will never return to watch a second time. The movie's plot and narrative was just too boring, frankly speaking.

My rating of "Ben Niao" lands on a one out of ten stars.

I really enjoyed this one. Photography was really well planned and thought out even though this had to be on a small budget. Kudos to the cinematography crew and location scouts because it had to be difficult to shoot in some of these places. I haven't seen this part of China before but I still felt immersed in it after seeing this picture.

Shaky hand held shots really bother me because they are so disorienting and unnecessary in most films. This photographer hardly used hand held at all and it added to the quiet ambience of the film. I was impressed with the shot choices, ambience and overall look of the film. Kudos.

The Foolish Bird is a Chinese film which is a commentary on our modern times.

Although taking place in China, a culture I am not very familiar with, the film tells a story that is a universal one in these current times in which we live.

In particular the film tackles the subject of modern smart phones and the role that they play in society, or I guess I should say, societies plural, since this is a different society than the one I am used to but the impacts are the same, as I mentioned before this being a universal story with a message.

The story also deals with young people and how they are impacted by this technology, and interconnectedness. I would probably need to watch this film two or three more times to fully grasp all the themes, but unfortunately I do not have time for that so I will leave it how it is.

Maybe in a few years I will give it another viewing. The main downside that comes to mind with this film is that it drags on just a bit too long for the story being told.