Fei ya fei

Based on a Chinese opera dating back to the 10th century, this drama concerns a rough-hewn bill collector who is forced to collect a debt from an old friend, who is trying to make a living as a poet. When the poet is reluctant to pay what he owes, the collector tethers himself to the writer with handcuffs, threatening not to release him until the debt has been covered. As the poet’s lady looks on in silence, the bill collector and the writer spend a long night together, fueled by alcohol, as the two men express a mutual contempt for the life the other has chosen — the money man scoffs at the poet’s creative ideals, while the bard is appalled by his old friend’s denial of the value of love and the importance of life’s intangibles. While filmed in Japan, Fei Ya Fei was directed and co-scripted by Li Ying, a Chinese expatriate who has lived in Tokyo since 1989, and stars a trio of Chinese actors, Liao Yi-wu, Mang Ke, and Zhang Yi.