Double Movie Review: Onmyouji I and II

I absolutely love supernatural exorcism dramas of all sorts. Being that I love studying occult of many cultures, I like occult used in stories. Sometimes occult is used poorly like blood in an action flick. It holds no purpose. The Onmyouji movies use Onmyoudou and Shinto beliefs. Onmyoudou has its origins from Chinese Daoism and adapted with Shinto influences. Hence similarities in rituals like hand signs and seals are commonly used. The movies are very accurate with the historical period such as costumes and set design. I was particularly impressed with the atmosphere the movie presented overall. The Heian period of Japan was relatively peaceful hence court nobles were often times drinking and composing poetry.

In Onmyouji I, the talented onmyouji, Abe no Seimei, befriends the court noble, Minamoto no Hiromasa, and together they defend the capital of Kyoto. Doson, Seimei's rival, continuously challenges Seimei by endangering the mikado to ensure that he will die. While it is a simple story overall with two forces opposing each other, there are bits and pieces that make the plot advance with more depth. For instance, the friendship between Seimei and Hiromasa is very unique. While some viewers today jump to the conclusion that these two are gay very quickly, I disagree. Seimei and Hiromasa share a love for each other because they respect each other very much. Seimei doesn't appear to care what goes on in the world, but Hiromasa's death brought tears to his eyes and he never discarded his duty as a guardian of the capital. Hiromasa is always bringing humor to the table with his heartbroken tales, but he is very honest and recognizes Seimei as a force of good. Nomura Mansai did an excellent portrayal of Abe no Seimei. His version of Seimei is a man wearing a sly and seducing smile. Being an accomplished kyogen actor, Seimei is a funny, but carefree character. Itou Hideaki's acting does annoy me a bit at times for being a bit fake and over-acting, but I think he carries out that naive spirit that Hiromasa has. With two handsome lead characters, I can see why people love them so much. I love the both of them as well.

Though the story is not profound, it is a tale of morality as Wikipedia puts it. Doson's evil is not without reason. As Seimei was once his student, the shock of having your own abilities overshadowed by the talent of someone younger than you led to a dark jealousy. In addition to that, his ambition to become a ruler himself led him to fuel the hatred for the mikado by using Sukehime and her father. The various tragedies in the movie like unrequited love and misguided vengeance become the manifestations of the demons that Domon summons. All the yokai and rituals are essentially metaphors for the heart led astray by human desires. There was a quote by Seimei that I really liked. It goes along the lines of "A name is essentially a spell you are bound to. Just like Minamoto no Hiromasa is a name you are bound to." Hiromasa foolishly answers "Is Hiromasa then a spell?" to which Seimei laughs. What I interpret is kotodama, the belief that one's name holds powers, and the importance of a name. A name is an identity you are bound to like Hiromasa is bound to the Minamoto clan.

I liked the first movie more than the sequel. The sequel ain't bad though. Onmyouji II incorporates the Shinto creation myth involving Amaterasu and Susano-o. The two gods are reborn in a pair of siblings as both a gift and punishment. Genkaku, an Izumo survivor, wants to take revenge on the Yamato people that slayed the Izumo by taking over the capital. Seimei and Hiromasa join hands again to defeat Genkaku so that peace can be restored. With the threat of eminent destruction, Seimei tries to unravel the myth about Amaterasu and Susano-o in connection to saving the capital. Though a little more predictable than the first movie, I still enjoyed it. Genkaku like Doson was a character driven by his own mad desire to the point of sacrificing his own family, but repents as he sees that in the end it is his own loss rather than win.

Being a kyogen actor, Nomura Mansai incorporates a lot of his dance in both movies. In Onmyouji II when Seimei has to dress as a goddess to initiate a ritual, I thought it was a beautiful dance. The slow motion always made it more graceful to watch. Seimei's fighting moves with Doson and Genkaku always involving billowing sleeves to trick the eye and evade the blade. Nomura's foxy smile is always alluring to me. It's so playful and extremely casual. The exorcism involving the female leads were really suggestive which I can see why some people are either offended by it or very entranced by it. The female leads were relatively useless as they were used to propel a small portion of the plot. Overall the movies were enjoyable with a good amount of action and drama. The CG effects are pretty bad even for 2001, but that's not the point of the movie. Action wise, there's a bit of flying around on wire in both movies usually towards the end and this movie was probably rated R for the throat slitting. But seriously I wasn't a bit shocked by the blood. For lovers of old Japanese cinema, Onmyouji is not to be missed. The soundtrack composed by Umebayashi Shigeru was beautiful in both movies and very memorable to listen to.