TIFF 09: KAMUI Review
A ninja epic without a story, Yoichi Sai's adaptation of the 40 year old manga source material limps onto screen with hollow characters, bad CGI and way, way too much run-time. For enthusiasts of mythology of the ninja there is something on offer, and its ambitious attempt at an unfocused narrative (for those who make it to the end of the film this spelled out as obvious as it can be) is intriguing on paper, but actual execution - particularly in the pacing department - is sorely lacking (even by Japanese fantasy epic standards; Gojoe, Casshern I am looking at you).
Outcast from his vile and villainous ninja clan, despite being potentially the most talented of the next generation, Kamui ends up walking the earth alone and hunted at a very young age. He unwittingly joins forces with boisterous and amusing Hanbei (the only character in the movie with any spark in him) after Hanbei kills the horse of a local (evil) lord. Ending up in Habei's anonymous fishing village and essentially moving in with the fisherman's family, Kamui attempts to find a life there, but his past keeps creeping back up, endangering his chances at peace and family.
The attraction here is the wide colour saturated oceanic vistas and big set pieces. It is ironic in a big action epic that the quiet moments of fishing life are the more compelling ones, mainly in the picture perfect sea-side village an idyllic fishing voyages. Even if they are on the cliché side and seem completely at odds with the films ominous and voluminous prologue, Hanbei's family life and its attraction to a lone warrior as a viable option is interesting enough. But the little dramas that function as the films plot are sparse and unfinished. The pirates who hunt sharks are a welcome distraction if you can get past the horrible computer renders of their ship and their 'mega-shark' prey. Of course the picture ends up in a huge CGI battle with the ninja clan that has little weight or significance. And the film seems to be saying that as long as the ninja make art of their prowess for violence, they are valuable to Japan. The function and value of art is a pretty high minded premise for a simple, populist action-melodrama and the fun disposable family entertainment tone is awkwardly abutted with violence against children. A bleak, ambiguous finale is more baffling than it is challenging or interesting. The collection of underwater, tree-top and sea-side ninja battles are not enough to enliven the whole turgid affair. If only all the elements were better conceived, we might have something. As it stands, Shinobi offers a more compelling scenario and characters and that is not saying much.
