Shinobi No Kuni is a fun take on the Jidageki genre and has a strong moral message.

 

Shinobi No Kuni is a movie that I've had on my radar for a long time. What brought it to my attention was the fact that the leading role was being played by Satoshi Ohno, the talented vocalist of the popular Johnny's pop group, ARASHI. Ohno has starred in some really solid dramas during his time in the entertainment industry, but Shinobi No Kuni was his first time in a historical action comedy. The movie also has a rather star studded supporting cast and as such, my intrigue was certainly peaked. It was also based on the 2008 novel of the same name by author, Ryo Wada and directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. So, needless to say, I had high expectations. 

Mumon, the protagonist, is a carefree, lazy ninja who is perhaps known as the very best and strongest ninja within the land of Iga. His main motivation is to earn a rich enough stipend to satisfy his stubborn bride to be, Okuni. The plot kicks off when we see him involved in a skirmish between two of the Iga ninja factions. Fighting for Momoji Sandayuu, Mumon is sent to kill Shimoyama Jirobee. He easily kills his target in one swift blow after effortlessly dodging all of Jirobee's attacks. When no one on the battlefield even mourns the death of Jirobee including his father, Shimoyama Heibee, his brother, is so disgusted that he no longer sees the Iga ninja as humans. When he is entrusted with delivering a message of Iga's surrender to Nobukatsu Oda, Heibee instead seizes the opportunity to instigate a war. 

The events of the narrative that unfold within the movie are entirely fictional. They are however told within the confines of actual historical wars, the Tensho Iga wars to be specific. I greatly appreciate the fact that the fictitious events depicted within the movie do not directly contradict the outcome of the historical war. That in my opinion at least helps suspend disbelief as it is a self contained story that does not trend on any toes unnecessarily. 

   

Known for directing off-beat dramas, Yoshihiro Nakamura's direction didn't surprise me. His usual flair and style are on full display in Mumon, right down to the goofy, slapstick humour that fans of his will love. It's rather impressive how he took a Jidageki epic and brought his own signature flourish to it and conversely, make something rather refreshing to the genre. 

Daisuke Soma's cinematography is quite simply stunning. Dynamic fluidity is how the camerawork can be described. There's a vast variety of shot types, varying from close-up reaction shots and slow moving shots to beautiful wide shots. Some close-ups are even turned into static, picturesque shots in order to introduce major characters at the beginning of the movie. The wide angles in particular are truly divine as they fully showcase the gorgeous landscape and castles perfectly. These shots are truly immersive and engaging and succeed in realising the Sengoku Jidai period in which the movie is set. The constant movement of the camera is ever present, even in the battle scenes, but to Soma's credit, the framing allows the action to be captured clearly with every blow being visible on screen. Combined with some rather solid visual effects used for the ninja techniques as well as humorous moments, it enhances the overall enjoyment of the movie. 

The soundtrack is also very much in the vein of Nakamura's previous work. His love of jazz and funk made it's way into the movie alongside some rocky musical pieces. At first, I thought that it would feel out of place, but with the movie's slapstick humour, it grew on me and it felt quite fitting by the end. There is some subtle use of stringed instruments of the more traditional nature and these are used during Mumon's duels. It helps give the duels with Mumon a much more serious, tense tone in contrast to the comedy. 

What I love about Shinobi no Kuni is the moral lesson within the main narrative. The movie is all about greed as shown with the Iga ninja being driven by the pursuit of monetary gain. Even Mumon, the protagonist is initially driven by monetary gain, but as a means to please his woman. The narrative shows the greed perverting the notion of honour, pride and even the love of ones roots. This is especially prevalent when the Ig ninja are offered money to take a life as the life of the target becomes worthless in the eyes of the Iga ninja. Their morals go out the window as they think purely about the money. In the movie, the Iga ninja are called savage beasts more than once and that is what they become for the sake of gaining currency. This is emphasised by the use of hungry animal sounds when they are in battle. By the end of the movie, it even becomes nothing more than a source of sadness. 

The battle and fight choreography is all about the rule of cool. Much of the fighting contains some rather silly, but fun ninja tricks that could be found in various ninja anime and manga. There's even the use of substitution jutsu as Mumon uses a dummy to tank some hits in more than one scene, much like characters in Naruto do albeit with wooden logs. There's some rather implausible and impractical stuff, but it does add to the comedy and therefore isn't something that ruins the viewing experience. Daizen has a quiver full of ridiculously large arrows and at one point shoots a tree down with a single shot, again it's all about the rule of cool and fun. 

I do love the final duel as it's a return to the more serious tone albeit in a very stylized way. There's some great use of lighting as the traditional movie lighting switches during the duel to a spotlight that focuses purely on the two duellists. This gives it a theatre production type of feel and look as well as highlighting the importance of the ferocious fight to the death. The lack of music is a brilliant choice as it really adds to the tension and highlights the sounds of every unarmed strike and the sound of the blades clashing. The choreography is suitably intricate and brutal to give it a serious vibe. 

As far as performances are concerned, Satoshi Ohno does a brilliant job portraying the protagonist, Mumon. He's accomplished at portraying the lazy, carefree role as seen with some skits he did with Arashi and that aided his performance. His dancing background also proved to be a benefit, especially in a certain scene in which he basically dances out of the way of a large number of spear thrusts. He excelled in the fight scenes believably pulling off the moves of an accomplished ninja. He also really conveyed Mumon's change of heart and character towards the end of the movie really well as he took charge and hit the right emotionally beats. He also had great chemistry with Satomi Ishihara, making their relationship believable and together they have one of the most emotional scenes of the entire movie. Satomi Ishihara does a fabulous job portraying Okuni. She also goes through a character arc full of change. She is rather unlikable and stubborn at the start with her pushing Mumon into earning money and not letting him into their rather shabby home. By the end of the movie however, she becomes much more warm and caring and full of concern in ragrd to Mumon. 

The portrayal of Nobukatsu Oda is quite interesting. The movie portrays the son of Nobunaga as having a believable inferiority complex when it comes to his renowned father. This complex allows him to be rather easily manipulated more than once and Yuri Chien's portrayal really helps to sell the role. 

Ryohei Suzuki is a joy to watch as Heibee Shimoyama. He's a rather threatening presence and incredibly intense in many of his scenes. He's also rather adept at the fight scenes and has a believable motivation fuelled by revenge. This makes him much more than a one dimensional villain and in fact could be seen as a tragic figure. Along the same lines as Ryohei Suzuki's performance, Yusuke Iseya has a rather looming, physical presence and is rather menacing during his scenes. He also nails the conflict within the character of Daizen really well. 

Overall, Shinobi no Kuni is a rather fun and engaging Jidageki experience. It offers a unique take on the genre and has a slew of great performances which is expected given the stellar cast. If you like light-hearted action comedies with a strong moral message in the narrative, then Shinobi no Kuni might just be for you.