Shinobi no Kuni (2017)

[AlbertV]

 

Plot: Based on the novel by Wada Ryou, Mumon is lazy, but he is also the best shinobi from Iga Province. One day, he kills a shinobi from a different family for a reward. Mumon is unaware that his actions will lead to a deadly battle between the shinobi corps of Iga Province and Nobukatsu Oda’s corps in Ise.

Starring: Ohno Satoshi (J-Pop boy band ARASHI); Ishihara Satomi (Sadako 3D); Chinen Yuri (Samurai Hustle); Suzuki Ryohei (Gatchaman, Tokyo Tribe); Iseya Yusuke (Sukiyaki Western Django); Taira Yuna (Sadako 3D); Kunimura Jun (The Wailing)

Release Date: July 1, 2017

[whitesnake]

Shinobi no Kuni (aka Mumon: The Land of Stealth) just popped up on the list of films to be shown here at a downtown Japanese film festival this July.  Description - "Based upon the historical 1600 Battle of Sekigahara between the ninja warriors and the samurai of Iga Japan."  I'm checking if it's worth seeing on the big screen.  Nothing is available on Amazon except the paperback by Ryou Wada in Japanese.  The manga adaptation was illustrated by Matsumi Banno.  "Set in the 4th year of Tenshou Era during the Warring States Period (around 1567) of Japan, it tells a dramatized version of the Battle of Murayama, between the Oda clan [Oda Nobunaga's clan] and the ninja of Iga Province."  So much for the local film festival description about Sekigahara.  I don't know if there is an actual manga published in English, but an English manga translation is online - http://mangakakalot.com/manga/shinobi_no_kuni 

Rotten Tomatoes has only one movie review - "Its well isn't quite deep enough to draw the drama its climax demands, but it's a lot of fun getting to the end of the gauntlet it throws down."  IMDB has 9 favorable user reviews out of 11.  "This movie is not like any ninja movie you would have seen."  "The ending just might break your heart though."  This fan review makes it sound different from that last sentence - "The manga is pretty dark, very action-y and kind of tragic... The movie on the other hand is a 2hr comedy-action film that is just a whole lot of FUN for all ages."  A more serious reviewer says "I wasn't too fond of the comical undertone... Levity is fine, but the way some scenes were filmed or edited, especially the CG and show-mo, makes it hard for me to take this movie seriously... Poor sets, jarring tonal shift, and questionable directional choice aside, the other aspects are really good.  The action scenes are nicely shot, the stunts are fluid, the sequence is intense - when the playing field is level."  From a short review - "A longtime Japan Cuts [Film Festival] favorite known for his offbeat dramas, [director] Yoshihiro Nakamura... takes on the jidaigeki epic with his signature sense of play featuring a jazzy soundtrack and fantastical ninja tricks."  Another review - "The movie manages to be a really fun, light-hearted, and hilarious ninja flick that you can enjoy with the whole family, while still managing to follow the plot of the source material almost perfectly."  From efilmcritic.com - "It is, then, the sort of brilliance we really should expect of Nakamura by now, oddball genre martial with a solidly humane core.  'Mumon' is an effervescent, entertaining movie before everything else, but it's got enough brains and heart behind the jokes that it should stick with anyone who sees it far better than would be expected from the silly premise." 

Interview with the director - http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2017/06/30/yoshihiro-nakamura-shinobi-no-kuni-mumon-the-land-of-stealth/   The movie is still on the film festival circuit; there isn't a legitimate home entertainment release with English subtitles yet, but the Japanese language Blu-ray came out in February 2018.  Yes, I'll probably go to the film festival for this.