Goemon

Last night (Wednesday), I was invited to the Goemon premiere at the ImaginAsian theater.  Before I get into this we’ll take a quick look at the synopsis

In 1582, the mighty warlord Nobunaga was betrayed by his retainer, Mitsuhide. The cruel Hideyoshi subjugated Mitsuhide’s warriors and took over as Ruler of the Kingdom of Japan.

Master thief Goemon – the Japanese Robin Hood – steals a wooden box once owned by Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi’s men, including Lord Mitsunari and his legendary ninja Saizo, are after the box and Goemon finds himself fighting for his life. He discovers evidence inside the box of the secret pact between Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi to assassinate Nobunaga. This revelation would tear Japan apart. Moreover Nobunaga was like a father to Goemon – the betrayal could not be more personal.

Goemon enters Osaka Castle, intent on killing Hideyoshi, and finds the beautiful Princess Chacha. Hideyoshi’s guards attack, and it is only through the surprise intervention of Saizo that Goemon is saved.

As youths, Saizo and Goemon trained together under Nobunaga. Goemon was assigned as Princess Chacha’s bodyguard and fell in love. After their master’s death, Saizo chose duty and went to work for Mitsunari. Goemon chose freedom.

When Hideyoshi announces his plans to invade Korea and China, making clear his intention to drag Japan into decades of brutal warfare, Lord Ieyasu convinces Princess Chacha to become Hideyoshi’s concubine so that she can betray him – a painful decision as her heart belongs to Goemon. Hungry for power, Mitsunari orders Saizo to kill Hideyoshi.

Goemon and Saizo mount an incendiary attack on Hideyoshi’s ships, but Saizo is captured and later put to death. Goemon storms Osaka Castle, single-handedly killing most of Hideyoshi’s men in a breathtaking display of martial prowess, before slaying Hideyoshi and escaping with Chacha. But with Hideyoshi dead, the armies of Mitsunari and Ieyasu face off to determine the new ruler of Japan by force. Goemon must return to the battlefield one last time if he is to bring peace to his country…

To be perfectly honest I was worried that it would be a boring history movie. Upon arriving at the theater I was fully prepared to pass out for the full length of the movie. However, when I was told that it was historical fiction my curiosity was piqued. I looked up the director, KAZUAKI KIRIYA

Born in Kumamoto, Japan in 1968. Kiriya is a visionary director with works in photography, screen play and directing films and music videos. Kiriya’s highly stylized debut film Casshern is well regarded with it’s impressive execution. He has also directed Utada Hikaru music videos as well. Kiriya has taken a diverse role in GOEMON as the Director, Screenplay, DP, Editor, Producer, and Production credit.

Wait, Casshern, you mean this Casshern?

This movie was in Japanese with English subtitles and the problem that presented itself was that the subtitles were in white. Am I racist against white subtitles?  No, the problem was that there were many scenes where there was bright imagery on the screen such as glowing white robes or something bright yellow. So some of the dialogue was lost but it wasn’t too important. My limited Japanese was able to pick up some of the dialogue.

The plot was semi-predictable but there were some twists in it.  It did have its dull story moments and I feel there were some wasted scenes. However, there was no romantic triangle or side story that fleshed out a character. This movie is an action movie and it did deliver. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for fear that I’d miss a ninja or some activation of some sort of subtle ninja power.

I would recommend this movie for the following people: