Mushishi (live-action)
I was extremely interested in the Mushishi live action film right from the first rumours and announcements; not only is it one of my all-time favourite animated TV shows (I really ought to read the graphic novels sometime), the fact that Katsuhiro Otomo was in charge as director made me preorder a copy without a second thought. Unfortunately it didn’t impress me as much as I’d hoped; if anything the end result was actually quite lacklustre. Considering the quality of the source material and the collective talent on board, I have to wonder how it didn’t manage to realise its potential.
The TV show (and the graphic novel series, from what I’ve heard) was strictly episodic in structure, so any feature-length version has to splice a number of the individual stories together and smooth out the screenplay to make a coherent narrative. This is one thing that the movie does reasonably well: it features several story arcs that fans are familiar with but emphasises the background to Ginko’s childhood and its relevance to his present life in an over-arcing theme throughout the film. The cinematography is also excellent, but beyond that…I’m far from convinced.
Making a series of self-contained story arcs flow for over two hours is I imagine a tall order but it’s pretty well done here. My only complaint in that respect is the fact that the guy from the Rainbow episode becomes Ginko’s travelling companion for longer than he was in the TV series, which slightly undermines Ginko’s lonely traveller status. To my mind his solitary lifestyle is a significant part of his mystique, so having other people accompanying him through multiple story arcs doesn’t sit right with me.
Visually though Mushishi is wonderful. Ignoring the hints about when the events take place (I prefer the historical setting to be unspecified; it adds to the sense of timelessness that way), I couldn’t have wished for better atmospherics. The backdrop of towering mountains, isolated villages, green valleys and cool rivers is mysterious and haunting, and the CG mushi look better than I dared hope. In that sense, live-action works very well: these supernatural creatures come across as even more lifelike and convincing, perhaps because the world they inhabit is depicted in a way that’s closer to our reality than the animated medium. I prepared myself for cheap and shoddy CG, but my fears were fortunately unfounded: the mushi look as weird as they are wonderful.
My first encounter with Joe Odagiri was his apearance as the principal villain in Azumi, but needless to say his turn as Ginko is very different. His performance is suitably understated and charismatic, which leads me to believe he’s one of those actors whose enviable level of cult popularity is matched by a genuine on-screen talent and presence. He strikes me as one of those effortlessly cool, Johnny Depp-style actors, much like Tadanobu Asano; I’m sure he’d be able to handle Ginko’s more jovial moments, but sadly none of them are represented here.
One of my favourite episodes of the TV show was A Sea of Brushes. Tanyuu, the heroine of that story, was one of the most compelling of the entire show; I was therefore relieved at how spellbinding Yuu Aoi’s performance was. Between this and her role in All About Lily Chou-Chou, I’d say she’s a young actress to look out for in future. I’m sure others will be more familiar with her role in the live-action Honey And Clover though, so I’m tempted to watch that on her performance alone.
The other significant name on the credits list is of course that of Otomo himself, which was a major selling point in the DVD box art and what little general promotion it received over here. The only problem being, I rate Otomo more as a builder of concepts and less as a director. What I’ve read of the Akira manga is actually better than the movie; while the latter was (and in my opinion still is) a superlative cinematic experience, the plot was notoriously hard to understand. Similarly Steamboy had some interesting ideas and looked spectacular, but felt overlong; Mushishi too feels plodding and meandering. It’s an easy trap to fall into given the sedate and itinerant nature of the original story, and Otomo falls in headfirst.
Mushishi is by nature sedate, but boring it most certainly isn’t. During the movie I was checking the DVD timer at frequent intervals, which I NEVER did when watching the anime: the impact that mushi have on humans and the moments of tension when Ginko tries (not always successfully, I might add) to resolve the conflict between mushi and human, adds a sense of urgency and emotion to the idyllic rural setting. The anime takes serene tales half-hidden in the mists of time and makes them exciting and involving; the movie, well, doesn’t. Not for me, anyway.
Given that the humanity vs nature conflict, including examining scientific endeavours and their costs on the natural world, is an integral part of Otomo’s CV I honestly expected this aspect to be explored further. The premise of the story is that of a minority of humans who have a working knowledge of these mysterious creatures; it might not be science fiction but I can still imagine how it could fall into Otomo’s comfort zone of allegorical fantasy and portraying people who are struggling to understand the world around them.
I agree with Helen McCarthy in her view of the film in that Otomo is technically gifted and has an eye for cinematography but his direction lacks focus, perhaps because he is allowed too much free rein due to the respect he’s earned in earlier productions. There isn’t enough consideration for viewers unfamiliar with the material either: if I hadn’t seen the events shown here in their animated incarnation I think I’d be confused and frustrated at how little is explained in regards to the nature of the mushi and how they are relevant to the human world.
In live-action format the Mushishi worldview is every bit as ethereal and immersive as its animated made-for-TV counterpart, but after transporting me into that world so effectively, it disappointingly made me feel a bit bored. If the story wasn’t as familiar and dear to me as it is, I don’t know how much appeal it would’ve held: for all the subtle nuances in the performances and the beautiful camera work it still feels like a missed opportunity to bring a modern classic to a wider audience.
Hmm… For all the praiseworthy parts you mentioned, it really is quite damning when boredom is the fundamental flaw, isn’t it?
But as a fan biased toward the 2-D side of things, I wasn’t really expecting much from this adaptation, even with the high-profile names. I think I’ll track this down and see if I might not be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for this.
The critical panning the live action film received severely deflated my interest in it, I have to say. The anime and the manga offer slightly different approaches to a fantastic story, so this film never felt necessary. In retrospect, though, I could see its worth purely in a visual sense. I’ll add to my LoveFilm queue and give it a crack at some point. Those screens really do make it look quite beautiful…
@2DT: it’s worth the rental. I don’t regret watching it, but I’ll rewatch the TV show…I can’t say the same about the film. Even better still, I might as well add the graphic novels to my wishlist…
@Hige: unnecessary is the best way of summing up the film – yes, it looks great, but it doesn’t add much to the story at all. All I can say is that it’s worth renting but probably not a purchase.