Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura (2017)

Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura (2017). 2h 9m

“I saw this yesterday, on a long-haul flight, with English subtitles – I was intrigued, because I already own the manga version, and have a Youtube channel dedicated to Kamakura (Green Morning Dragon Productions). I am not a huge fan of Japanese cinema – I find it overly melodramatic, and stocked with agency u0026#39;tarentou0026#39; who leave me cold. Thankfully not the case, here. Very well cast – the two leads, Takahata (my first introduction to her work, and hopefully not the last) and Sakai were excellent together, the story was engaging, without being schlocky or ludicrous, and the film looked luscious – the special effects were outstanding, and brought a lot to the film. If youu0026#39;re into Harry Potter, I think youu0026#39;ll like this for the creatures and the well-executed fantasy element too. A clever, romantic fantasy, with heart.”