By Orrin Grey
Onmyoji (2001). Director: Yojiro Takita. Cast: Mansai Nomura, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hideaki Ito, Eriko Imai. Country: Japan.
First, a quick history lesson: Onmyoji takes place during the Heian period in Japan, a time when onmyoji referred to a class of civil servants who practiced magic and divination, made calendars, and kept the peace between people and spirits. The story of the movie concerns Abe no Seimei, a real person and accomplished onmyoji. A shrine in Kyoto bears the name of the real Abe no Seimei and is dedicated to him. After his death, he became a sort of folk hero and increasingly, fantastical stories sprang up around him, many of which are incorporated into Onmyoji.
In the movie, he’s played by Mansai Nomura, a stage actor of the kyogen tradition (short, comedic plays that are done alongside noh performances). As Abe no Seimei, he smirks a lot. I mean a lot, possibly to play up the legend that Abe no Seimei’s mother was a kitsune, or fox spirit.
Spirits and magic are commonplace in Onmyoji. Within the first three minutes of the movie, no less than three supernatural events occur and while it can’t keep up that pace for the entire running time, it is as filled with mystical events as anything you’re ever likely to see. Early on, we see Abe no Seimei cut a butterfly in half with a leaf, turn beautiful maidens into paper dolls (they’re probably actually shikigami, minor spirits that serve as familiars to onmyoji), and cut a snake from a gourd. And none of this has anything to do with the plot.
What the plot does concern is a rival onmyoji who is seeking to unleash a vengeful spirit and assassinate the Emperor and his infant heir. There is a variety of other characters, all of whom have their own sub-plots, and star-crossed love stories and political intrigue abound, but it’s all really mostly there to serve as a backdrop for the magical dueling.
Most of the time, the movie looks good, though don’t expect much Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-style wuxia wire work. There’s an intentional staginess to the production that helps work in the movie’s favor, making most of the budgetary limitations seem charming rather than shoddy, though some of the CGI could be better.
The only real problem with Onmyoji is that, despite all the weirdness that’s constantly going on, it still manages to be incredibly slow. While sometimes, this pace feels pleasantly laconic, especially toward the beginning, by the end, things just seem to drag. If you’ve got the patience for it, though, it’s a very interesting and rewarding watch, and doing a little bit of historical research (typing “onmyoji” into Wikipedia will give you a good start) after it’s over makes it doubly so.
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