September 26, 2006
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
A beautifully composed romance - with ninja's! What more could you want from life?
Starring: Yukie Nakama, Jô Odagiri
Rating: 9/10
Directed By: Ten Shimoyama
Runtime: 101 minutes
Starring: Yukie Nakama, Jô Odagiri
Rating: 9/10
Directed By: Ten Shimoyama
Runtime: 101 minutes
With the current success of art-driven Hong Kong martial arts epics (Crouching Tiger, House of Daggers, Hero), there have been a few attempts to do the same with ninjas. Alas, most ninja films continue to be . . . horrid. It's about time someone delivers a "classy" Ninja film, because after all, Ninjas rock!.Shinobi plays out as a Japanese take on Romeo and Juliet (based on a Japanese novel), and I mean that in a good way. The story has enough romance and star crossed love to qualify as a "chick-flick", but it's Ninja love, so it's all good.
The star-crossed lovers become the leaders of their feuding tribes, and the new emporer demands they face off against each other - to the death. Five ninjas from one tribe begin a journey to the emporer's castle, and five from the other tribe follow them. Each ninja has his/her own unique powers, and we get to see each one in battle. My favorite was Yashamaru, a young nija with long flowing hair and even longer flowing sleeves. We never see his hands, but we do see the razor-wire cables he shoots from his sleeves, using them both to pull himself through the air and sever the limbs of his enemies.
The movie is beautifully shot, every scene is masterfully composed, the colors vibrant and flowing. It is well paced, with a good balance between the action, romance, and political elements. If anything is lacking, it's the stunt work, but that is only when compared to the current Hong Kong masters, it's not really any deficit in the film.
Oh, you should probably know it's sub-titled, but the characters are mostly ninja, so they aren't too wordy. Best of all, you finally have a Ninja movie that qualifies as a Date Movie.