Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2018 Part III: Mumon: The Land of Stealth

I must say, I was a little apprehensive going into this one, what with such ridiculously high ratings on IMDB. And that scepticism proved justified in a film that is perhaps more a vehicle for idol Satoshi Ohno. Having never lived in Japan, but spent some time there, I can confirm that it will not take too long channel-surfing to find this boy's face on the idiot's lantern.

If I had to summarise "Mumon" in one word, it would be "silly." But the plot is rather complex, sort of. The land of Iga is surrounded by lands controlled by Nobunaga clan. As such, the twelve elder statesmen of Iga decide to put their in-fighting to one side in order to fight off the advances of invading forces. Though numerous deceptions along the way cause the Nobunaga clan to proceed with caution.

Offering the land to them, the ninjas of Iga build a castle for Nobunaga in order to earn good wages from the outsiders for the work. But once finished, they soon destroy the castle, prompting Nobunaga to take the land by force. But with no offer of payment for defending the land, the ninjas of Iga choose to flee, leaving Iga there for the taking.

But, persuaded by his strict wife, Mumon (Ohno), Iga's strongest ninja, shows that the people of Iga are not simply money-grabbing mercenaries, but slightly decent people. This leads to a series of dramatic, highly choreographed, cheaply-CGIed and down-right silly fight scenes with inevitable conclusions.

There are some things that "Mumon: The Land of Stealth" does well, but there are also many bad points. To start, the silliness is comical, but not always in the intended way. As such, it becomes a film that it is a little too difficult to take seriously. This sees some poor CGI in place for over-the-top moves and give the impression of a film that is just badly made, which in parts can be true. The ridiculous close-ups of Ohno while in battle are comic, but clearly idol work at its most blatant.

The serious messages that conclude of endless double-crossings, showing a peoples fuelled only by greed and selfish ends that will happily see their own children die, as such lose some of their impact when placed alongside the silliness. The strength of "Mumon" is in its depiction of a differing view of the ninja: a clan of soulless creatures that will only lift a finger if money is involved, lazy, conniving and deceitful - logical for those made famous for sneaking-up behind others and attacking them.

The fight scenes switch from the entertaining to the sketchy to the ludicrous, leaving the audience a little unsure as to which frame of mind to be in throughout. Somewhat disappointing from Yoshihiro Nakamura, director of "Fish Story".

When it works, "Mumon" is okay; when it's bad, it just looks a bit cheap and silly, and like the ninja themselves, perhaps not deserving of such a favourable reputation.