Kamui

Kamui
Actors: Matsuyama Kenichi, and (OMG I had no idea it was him even though he was in half of the movie) Ito Hideaki, Kato Koyuki (ice queen/spiteful woman role--when you see her in a film, you know there will be trouble coming from her), Anna Tsuhciya (where was she??), and Ekin Cheng (where was he??).


Plot (?) **Spoilers Follow**
Kamui disowns the shinobi way and escapes from the clan. Which is a no-no, so he'll have to watch his back for the rest of his life unless something miraculous happens. He winds up in the sea on a boat with a fisherman who tells him to hop off into the stormy sea. So he finds himself washed up on the island where the guy lives. Kamui learns to live like a fisherman but he stares off towards the sea, with a wandering eye. One of the young women on the island takes a liking to him, but it's hard to really feel the connection because she just shows up one day and gives him a very nice, symbolic sea shell. Pirates show up...and somehow, the are connected to Kamui's dark past. I make this thing sound like it has plot. It doesn't.

If you want continuity and depth, this movie ain't for you. If you want to see Kamui kick ass in a fairly grusome very absurd Japanese way, then this movie is for you. Kamui shows you protruding spines and projectile blood. They also go WWF on Great White Sharks.

It goes: Kamui runs, he does some awesome ninja stunts, he escapes. He sees a guy hack off the leg of the lord's horse. Next thing, he's in the ocean with the severed leg and the guy. Then he's washed up on the island. Then he's out there fishing. Then the fisherman is caught by the lord. Kamui goes with the fisherman's wife to save the fisherman from death. Then they are out in the ocean. (What??) Then there are huge great white sharks popping out of the water. Then a harpoon comes out of nowhere, as if they didn't see the huge pirate ship in front of them!! Then they're back on the island. The pirates tell the fisherfolk that they'll kill all the sharks in exchange for provisions. Then Kamui finds out that they are pirate-ninjas. Escaped ninjas like him. (God, give me a BReAK). Then Kamui finds the whole village has been poisoned and killed by the pirate-ninjas (the whole village killed to get at one person--very Japanese, BTW). Because they were actually still with the clan and the are targeting him. So then there is this fight to the death.

Matsuyama Kenichi as Kamui

Matsuyama looks great in this role, but there's something off about his attitude. He doesn't really bring out that sharp edge attitude when he's bringing it. His body caves in too much for a a guy who is supposed to have awesome ninja skill. His posture is like he's taking his dog for a walk on a rainy day. Perfect for playing Light in Death Note. God, he was so so good in that role. He made Light in the live action Death Note films.

Who would be a good actor choice for Kamui? I can't think of any Japanese actors off hand. Maybe somebody from Hong Kong. Jay Chou had more attitude driving a car in Initial D--that's for sure. His low-key sure smirk when he got behind the wheel, whew. That's what I'm talking about.

Watching it in a Theater:

The best part about watching this film was that I got to watch it in a theater with other people. Their comments made it a great show for me.

1. A guy in the audience: "Pirate-ninjas???" (WTF?)

2. The guys sitting next to me during the absurd shark scene: "He just elbowed the shark! Look at that! He just elbowed the shark!"

3. Sugaru warns Kamui to watch his back today. Fudo, the pirate leader, turns to Kamui and says, "I've got your back. Don't worry." Sections of the audience laugh incredulously. We know what Kamui can do. This guy is talking like he could actually protect Kamui in a fight.

4. Fudo threatens Kamui with his naginaga. Kamui doesn't flinch. Fudo says, "It looks like you've got some guts." The audience murmurs a laugh. You bet he does.

5. At the end of the movie, the two guys sitting next to me say to each other, "Woah, that was amazing!" I'm sitting here going, "What in that was amazing?" This is the mess we'd get if a blind man tried to assemble the train cars after a train wreck: random! And he forgot the engine, or stuck it in the middle so it's only pulling half the train.

An Amazing Part of Asian/Japanese Storytelling:

One thing many Asian and especially Japanese stories do is practically destroy the line between self and Shadow/other. In the final battle, Fudo says to Kamui, "You and I, we're the same. You've killed over 100 people haven't you. You'll never escape the ninja way of life." And Kamui proceeds to destroy him in the most gruesome, cruel fashion. Now I like that kind of deep irony.

What I Would Have Liked To Experience:

In the beginning of this film, the voiceover said, "Kamui learned the ninja way of life. He became very skilled. His only goal was to become the strongest. He couldn't trust anyone. His heart grew cold."

Sounds like good. In order to find his heart again, he decides to quit the ninja way of life and he cuts his way out of clan territory. I would have liked to see how Kamui's heart had grown cold, and how he felt about it. He's feeling something because he's at the line, he's running across it. I also would have liked them to stress this as his reason for doing what he was doing in the story. I know Japanese are lovers of understatement, and this can make subtley complex flavors of art, but motive/sentiment was completely absent in this film.
Also, the attraction between Sugaru and Kamui was hardly believable. She just popped out of the water one night and gave him a cool, symbolic shell. And the village was talking about them getting married. Why? Because they passed within 100 feet of each other?

Further, I didn't feel how Kamui could get so mad when the pirates killed the islandfolk except for the important fact that they were human. The relationships in this film were unbelivably shallow. I feel so disappointed. :Sigh:

The Skinny:
Kamui is a hack-um-up-forever movie. If you like Kill Bill, Versus, or the Princess Blade, this one will satisfy you. If you like stories with complexity, air-tight continuity, and deep relationships, then this film is definitely not for you.