Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 37/52 | Kaiju
Down through the ages, the world has produced a plethora of wonders which has roused man's interest and his longing to achieve the impossible. Immortality is one of man's long-cherished dreams. This seemingly fantastic tale might easily happen today.
Uda arrives at the bamboo cutter’s hut to buy goods, but finds no one home. That is, until he sees the mourning wife. The husband, outside, tells of their dead daughter, Kaya, who was only five when she passed.
One day, the grieving couple sees the sky light up, and the earth shakes. They go outside to find the bamboo forest aflame. It is also the location of their child’s grave. He runs out to find the forest and the grave safe. He also sees a strange carrier with a baby inside.
The husband takes the carrier, which is hot to the touch. The carrier falls out of his hands, and the baby crawls out. Within seconds, the baby grows to the size of a small girl. He brings the girl back to his wife, who recognizes the girl instantly. It’s their daughter, Kaya. Well, except that her eyes are a mysterious robin’s egg blue.
Who is this mysterious girl? Is this their daughter, resurrected? Or has something merely taken her shape?
Men must learn that there is more than what's in their imagination.
The film is based on the classic Japanese folk tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The structure of the movie is pretty dry, feeling like it is trying to stick to as many details from the folk tale as possible. The result is a bit slow and repetitive, as fables often are.
The performances seem to be going for a kids movie or comedy — it’s a little hard to get on the movie’s wavelength. The best performance is from Megumi Odaka, who plays the blind Akeno. She would go on to do a bunch of Godzilla.
Where the story succeeds is in how it depicts the higher-ups, their xenophobia, and their duplicitous means. Money seems to buy security and well-being, but it cannot purchase love. And it cannot keep Kaya’s true family away from her.
The music is also confusing, with a jaunty, childlike bounce but tinges of horror/sci-fi elements. The finale has a lush orchestral score a la Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It’s beautiful, but it’s out of place from the rest of the movie. The Peter Cetera song in the end credits was a surprise. My dad immediately recognized his voice.