Movies by Uchida Tomu were subtitled very recently and are only shown at festivals... but not to be missed.
Here, the demonstration is done that Love never works, through three (or is it one? --- it is one) impossible-love-stories.
It could seem to start like an epic movie, but it is definitely not so: Mixing elements of noh, kabuki and kinky erotic; assumed filmed theater and "normal" movie; and much more, the movie is never messy. The story is complex enough and can be seen a different levels, but it remains clear and understandable. That is art and entertainment. And not depressing though the subject is not optimistic.
Another extremely good Japanese movie from the 60's.
7.2Keywords: japan
Plot summary
In the reign of the Emperor Suzaku (930- 946 A.D.),various mishaps happen after a strange white rainbow in appearance in the sky over Kyoto. The Emperor orders a famous astronomer, Yasunori, to consult a certain Chinese book of secrets to calm the fear of the people. Yasunori has two disciples, Yasuna and Doman. But he desires that Yasuna succeeds him because Doman is interested only in power. Assisted by Yasunori's wife, Doman sends his follower, Akuemon, to kill Yasunori. Doman also steals the secret book and puts the blame on Yasuna and his sweetheart, Sakaki, Yasunori's adopted daughter. Sakaki commits suicide and Yasuna kills Yasunori's wife in his rage. He retrieves the secret book and sets out on a journey without destination. He meets her younger sister, Kuzunoha, with whom he falls in love at Sakaki's home town. Lord Iwakura, Yasunori's brother-in-low, advices the Court that the Crown Prince has no child and this causes tourmoils. Akuemon is summoned to catch a white female fox which is to be used for charming away the curse on the Prince. Akuemon fails to find a white female fox, but meets Yasuna who has protected the foxes. Akuemon beats Yasuna and takes Kuzunoha with him. But Yasuna is rescued by a white fox. The white fox asks his daughter to transform herself in the shape of Kuzunoha to live together with him. After that, they have a baby. When Kuzunoha escapes from Akuemon and comes to Yasuna, the female fox in the shape of Kuzunoha disappears leaving a poem (tanka) beside her sleeping baby.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 996.83 MB
1280*544
Japanese 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Do not love: inside is emptiness
Reviewed by
a thoroughly, deliberately crafted film
"Koiya koi nasuna koi" is a film I would characterize as the opposite of "crazy". Everything about it was skillfully and deliberately crafted, controlled.
Ironic that it is over forty years old. Contemporary films could use more of its use and mastery of creative technology. As example are some science fiction films I've seen in the past ten years: a tremendous amount of money, time and effort spent on technology that ultimately resulted in a "muddy-ing" (darkening and blurring) of the image. What is a film, if not the visual image? "Koiya koi nasuna koi" possesses fresh, original colors and image clarity.
I was really touched by the combination of theater, animation, legend/mythology, history, love and ghost stories that created a compelling, totally memorable experience for the viewer. Praise for director, crew and actors.
Reviewed by
A crazy colorful tale with a forbidden love between a fox and a man
This is a film to proof that there are different ways to tell a story. We are so used to watch the Hollywood style. This film incorporates animation, kabuki and Butoh, colorized experiments, collapsing sets, animal masks (where you realize it is your fantasy which makes the illusion complete and not a perfect computer animation!). It's a crazy colorful tale about a court fortune teller driven mad by a murder, who ends up marrying a fox in human form. Erika Gregor, the formal Berlinale-Forum curator said about the film: "No film in recent years has surprised, fascinated, and also moved me as much." The beginning is a bit dry but it is worth waiting until the magic begins.