VIFF Review: Kamui

Kamui

OPENING: 10/05/2009

STUDIO: Shochiku Co. Ltd

RUN TIME: 120 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Live through it.

Opening Statement
The ninja movie genre gets a chance for a revival with Kamui, based on a long-running Japanese graphic novel series. Perhaps hoping to do for assassins in feudal Japan what Twilight has done for vampires, the new film features an attractive, young cast in a familiar story. Accordingly, it should be popular with audiences who aren’t aware of older but better examples.

Facts of the Case
An orphan cast out of his village, Kamui (Matsuyama Kenichi, Death Note) joined a ninja clan at a young age and became a deadly assassin. Now an adult, he’s grown weary of the ninja lifestyle, and leaving the clan commits an act of betrayal. On the run, Kamui finds refuge in a quiet village where a fisherman and his family take him in. When an old foe, Sugaru (Koyuki, The Last Samurai), recognizes him and suspects he’s there to kill her, she decides to finish him first. To make matters worse, the lord of the region is looking to punish the villagers for the killing his horse. Even if Kamui and Sugaru can settle their differences and protect the village from the lord’s men, both are still being pursued by the ninja hunters.

The Evidence
There are many elements in ninja films which explain its cult popularity — the period setting, the sword fighting, the stylized bloodletting, and the stories built around the theme of martial honor and loyalty. Fewer fans are attracted to the genre for the fishing. Yet, in Kamui a great deal of screen time is spent watching the protagonist, a reformed assassin, learn how to fish. Aside from a lengthy opening action sequence and the inevitable showdown between Kamui and his nemesis, the bulk of the story concerns the ex-ninja learning to adapt to village life. I could tell you how exciting those fishing scenes are (not very), but you’re probably more interested in hearing about the action.

Kamui‘s action relies heavily on CGI assistance, but the big surprise is how cheap those effects look. Mixing things up with a little wirework, characters fly effortlessly through the air. When they land on trees and other surfaces, it is glaringly obvious the actors are floating over a fake background (other times it’s fake actors on a real background). The resulting effect reminds me of clicking on an desktop icon and dragging it to another position. Computer technology has made this sort of elaborate action staging much safer and more fantastical, but when it looks this fake, you long for decent old-fashioned stunt work.

At first glance, the special effects might appear deliberately shoddy, the movie is meant as a parody. Hut there isn’t enough humor in the script to support that perspective. The movie plays it totally straight, even with the introduction of a pirate who looks like he walked right off the cover of a teen magazine. The final showdown has some respectably choreographed sword fighting, but I couldn’t say it was worth the wait.

While the younger cast members are game for the action and basic plot developments (such as the romance between Kamui and the fisherman’s daughter), they don’t feel very authentic. The script doesn’t afford any depth to the familiar archetypes. Viewers are left to make up their own back-story for Kamui’s rise in the ninja ranks and subsequent change of heart. Director Yoichi Sai leaves the story open for a sequel, which shows a lot of optimism for audiences’ reception, considering the main character is barely developed enough for a single film.

Closing Statement
Having never read the original manga series The Legend of Kamui (1964-71), I can’t comment on the faithfulness of the adaptation. As a fan of ninja, samurai, and other martial arts films, I found Kamui a disappointment, built upon a story and characters who didn’t capture my attention with its overall fake look.

The Verdict
5/10

• “”>