Aragami

I have to hand it to producer Kawai Shinya, he had a brilliant idea. It's the sort of unconventional if not outright innovative challenge that modern cinema desperately needs more of: giving filmmakers a small prompt and a tight set of conditions by which to make a full-length feature. In the case of Kitamura Ryuhei, that challenge - two actors, one setting, one week to shoot and wrap - resulted in this chanbara contribution to Kawai's "Duel Project," replete with elaborate costumes, set design, and even hair and makeup. That's certainly in keeping with what I've seen of Kitamura's other Japanese films, connoting a propensity for being Extra (see also 'Azumi,' and 'Godzilla: Final wars'), and surely extends even to the man's direction, and to choices of lighting and cinematography, and definitely to considerable post-production embellishments and use of pathetic fallacy. As the minutes tick by the indulgence only becomes more apparent, not least as dialogue alone fills a surprising amount of the length, and further includes Morino Nobuhiko's music of electronic beats and electric guitar, the editing, and the script that Kitamura penned with Takatsu Ryuichi.

All this is to say that even under the boundaries suggested by Kawai, 'Aragami' undeniably remains Kitamura's brainchild. To be honest, in this case I could have done with a build that was more direct and to the point, significantly cutting back on the excess and giving the filmmaker and his style even stricter guidelines. It's not that there aren't worthy thoughts in that surprising amount of dialogue that fills a full two-thirds of the runtime, but with all due respect, Kitamura isn't a director who can achieve success with the ostensibly ruminative drama of straight conversation. What might theoretically be more pensive, or at least more interesting, and carry more weight under the auspices of a master like Kobayashi Masaki, Inagaki Hiroshi, or Yamada Yoji, instead feels cheeky, playful, and far less than serious, more closely resembling Miike Takashi, or - dare I say it - the 'Mortal Kombat' flicks of the 90s. There's nothing wrong with that, nor with trying one's hand at something different, but as the majority of this small movie is one of dialogue and not action, or more generally something well suited to stylization, a director who almost exclusively operates in genre fare struggles to make that dialogue work.

And the simple fact of the matter is that while the notion set forth by Kawai is very clear, Kitamura's concept nevertheless withholds satisfaction of it for an awfully long time, without much to truly show for it up to that point. With all this said, the long-awaited duel to come in the last third is pretty swell, with sharp stunts and choreography, and some nice little touches throughout and even leading up to it. I don't know if the final moments at the end were necessary, but they are also well in keeping with what Kitamura has done elsewhere. I can't say that 'Aragami' isn't duly well made, with fine contributions from all all involved, cast and crew alike. I appreciate what the filmmaker wanted to do here. I'm just not convinced that he was the man for the job; either his screenplay needed to be more trim and action-oriented to suit his strengths, or another filmmaker should have undertaken direction in his stead. We get what we came for, ultimately, and I do like this title. For something light and fairly short, I'd happily give it a soft recommendation. I just also easily recognize its shortcomings, however, and given the nature of Kawai's challenge, maybe those shortcomings are all the more glaring in turn. Check it out if you like, and have fun with it, and I especially commend all those who specifically lent to the action - but don't go out of your way for it, and in saving it for a quiet day with tempered expectations, maybe that's the best way to get the most out of 'Aragami.'