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Synopsis:
Two badly wounded samurai arrive at a remote mountain temple. They’re taken in by a kindly host and a woman servant, but one samurai succumbs to his injuries and dies. The caretaker invites the surviving samurai to share a meal and a bottle of wine. He proceeds to tell him about a notorious demon called Tengu who haunts the mountain, dining on the flesh of men. He says Tengu’s real name is Aragami, and then reveals that he is, indeed, Aragami. The only way for the samurai to leave the temple is to destroy Aragami. |
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Review:
Aragami is absolutely vintage Kitamura. A small cast (of three, unless you count one who dies about two minutes into the film). An unfolding mystery. And a couple of surprise twists which will jolt a surprised laugh out of you.
This and 2LDK were made as part of a friendly competition between directors, and of course being a Kitamura fan I like this one best. It’s odd, though, because not much really happens. There’s talking, eating, fighting, more talking, more fighting. So summing it up like that makes it sound dead dreary, but don’t be deceived. The antagonist, Aragami, functions in the age-old role of storyteller, with a single narrator spinning a tale to chill the blood. You can almost see the flicker of firelight, and hear the mournful wail of wind in the trees, imagining the huddled circle of listeners enrapt by the gradually unfolding mysteries.
My only regret was that the single woman hardly entered into the story. Don’t wish to be cranky and humourless, it’s just that such a tightly-woven story should have incorporated her to some degree, and it seems rather silly to have a cast of three when one has no real role to play. Perhaps they found a spare kimono in the wardrobe department and neither of the men wanted to wear it.
Anyway, all things considered, this is a cracking good yarn, especially for such a limited cast and set. I suspect that may have formed part of the competition: if so, the effect of those constraints in this case was to refine the story like a smelter, until only the pure ore of narrative and action remains.
7.5 weapons to choose out of 10 by Alison Jobling back to the top
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