Shinobi no kuni (2017)
6KShinobi no kuni: Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. With Satoshi Ohno, Yuri Chinen, Denden, Seiji Hino. What is the only thing that can stand in the way of a ruthless warlord after total domination of a country? Ninjas. When ninja Mumon kills another fierce ninja in order to claim a reward the repercussions are severe and involve the advancing army and the band of stealth fighters. Politics, warfare and sinister plots.
“In Iga, called the u0026quot;land of stealth,u0026quot; ninjas spend all their time fighting and killing, with no more regard for humanity than animals have. The imperious warlord Oda Nobunaga has been invading and taking over province after province, but even he is wary of attacking Iga. The greatest ninja in Iga is Mumon, whose name means no-gate because no gate can be held against him; but Mumon (Satoshi Ohno) himself is quite a light-hearted guy whose main question about doing anything is u0026quot;who will pay me?u0026quot; When he is paid enough to kill the younger son of the Iga ruler, the older son swears vengeance and sets in train a series of events to bring Iga and Oda to the battlefield . Evidently Satoshi Ohno, beyond being an actor/ninja warrior, is a dj and the leader of a J-pop band, and his breezy style for much of this film provides a great sense of ease, even comedy, but the underlying message of the film is far more harsh and, well, sad. An interesting mix of style versus substance, and definitely a different take on the Japanese historical film. The ending just might break your heart, though.”
