\"Fly With The Crane\" So Homely

Fairly similar in its indie feel to writer-director Li Ruijun\'s  previous The  Old  Donkey (2010), and again using the two lead actors of that film as well as Li\'s own family and friends, Fly With The Crane  is emotionally a more accessible film but still feels like a short expanded to feature length. Based on a short story by well-known writer Su Tong — four of whose works have previously been filmed, most notably by Zhang Yimou (Rrise  The  Red  Lantern, 1991) — Li has transferred the setting to his native province of Gansu, and again bathed the dialogue in thick local dialect.

More importantly, the movie benefits from warmer roles assigned this time to Ma Xingchun , as a crafty old coffin-maker who wants to be buried according to local custom, not cremated as per the government\'s new ruling, and to Zhang Min , as his naggy but loving daughter. The film also gains an attractive lightness by having two kids, naturally but likeably played by Tang Long  and Wang Siyi , in the story\'s foreground.

It\'s in their scenes that the film best captures some of the flavour of Su\'s story, which is more concentrated on the  white crane of the title — seen as a good augury for going to heaven — than Li\'s adaptation, which is much more a portrait of a village and the quiet stubbornness of its inhabitants. The  Old  Donkey, the same approach centred on a battle between commerce and tradition; here it\'s between traditional and modern beliefs.

The HD  photography, again by Yang Jin , is less focused on landscape tableaux and long and medium shots, and has more saturated colours (especially vivid reds) which also contribute to the warmer tone. The percussive, droney music by Xiao He adds an offbeat flavour that\'s not entirely suitable, drawing too much attention to itself rather than underscoring the quiet humour and irony.