OROCHI (or, A Monster Serpent)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Classics

Today was a very hectic Thursday...and the only thing I really looked forward to was an 8 pm film showing, conveniently preceding two of my nightly phone conference calls.

Being a member of a Japanese Club in the office has its perks. We were invited to a screening at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 2 - to the 1st International Silent Film festival, sponsored by the Goethe-Institut, Institute Cervantes and Japan Foundation, along with other organizations.

The last Jap films I saw were those of Akira Kurosawa-sama's and the funny "Zaotichi"...so I hurriedly made my way (on a slightly less full stomach) to the theater, so I could be the first in my group to queue.

As I am no stranger to Murphy's Law......a problem with the free tickets, which was solved in my case, went back to bite me later in the butt...by making me miss the first half the story. It was a pity too since I could hear the audience react positively to the scenes which were subtly funny...but since my other comrades were not allowed in due to the dearth of tickets...and ended up leaving...I was still lucky to see half of the film and appreciate the lesson - a valid one still to this day - which was competently driven home by the director.

The film shown on September 13, 2007 was "A Monster Serpent" or "Orochi". Aside from striking my fancy since I first came across this term in "Ranma 1/2" manga...I was further entranced when I found out that there would be music provided live during the screening by Makiling Ensemble.

It was my first ever experience to watch a silent film with live people alternating between furious beats on the drum, the haunting strains of a violin..to a voice going up and down the musical scale. The music, coupled with the Japanese script on the film (with appropriate English subtitles of course) along with the exaggerated actions of the actors made it all the more an enjoyable experience which I wish I could savor again and again.

This film is directed by Buntaro Futagawa and came out in 1925. This is one of the few silent chambara-samurai warrior picture films to survive in relatively complete form at this point in time. The print comes with narration which explains the action of all characters.

Synopsis (taken fro the brochure): Set in the castle town in Japan's feudal age, this film depicts the trials and tribulations of Heizaburo Kuritomi, whose troubles stem from his love with two beautiful women of which he cannot convince either that he is a good man. He then becomes a killer trying to save one of them from a criminal who had rescued him subsequently after his escape from prison.


The protagonist Heizaburo Kuritomi, is an honorable but low-class samurai who is given an emotional depth, previously unseen in Jidaigeki films, as he battles with inner conflict and the injustices of society.

(Jidaigeki (時代劇, is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama," and the period is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1600 to 1868. Jidaigeki films are sometimes referred to as chambara movies, a word meaning "sword fight", though chambara is really a sub group. They have a set of dramatic conventions including the use of makeup, language, catchphrases, and plotlines - from wikipedia).

This emotional depth of our unlucky Heizaburo can be clearly seen in the closing sequence of the film where the protagonist is dragged away by his enemies after his very heroic efforts to protect his love (and her sick samurai husband...darn him!) . I've read somewhere that in the essay, "Bantsuma's 'New Breeze'", Midori Sawato points to the ending of Orochi as one of the most 'heroic and heartcrushing' images she has seen, and I am inclined to agree. The heroes of these kinds of films at that time were proud samurai of the upper classes who always triumphed over their evil opponents, upholding what was truly right in the world (yey!). However, Orochi was created in response to the national and military fanaticism that was prevailing at the time in Japan.

The now famous opening lines strike a chord: ‘not all those who wear the name of villain, are truly evil men. Not all those who are respected as noble men, are worthy of the name. Many are those who wear a false mask of benevolence to hide their treachery and the wickedness of their true selves,'’

...well, actually this sums up in a nutshell the whole story. First you will feel amused at how our samurai ends up in jail a couple of times even though he truly has not committed any wrong. Gradually, it begins to dawn on you how ironic it all is - he who is innocent, is now an object of utmost fear from the village people..while the village lord who shelters him..who is widely respected by the town folk turns out to be a villain who is as nasty in his true form (if he only shows it)..as Heizaburo is as pure of heart in the opposite end of the spectrum.

There is also the exhilarating fight scene which marks this kind of film...where the director's new sword fighting style may have attracted its fair share of audiences, but I would like to think that there were also a lot of people who were deeply touched by the profound message of the film.

I came away feeling not despondent..not angry...but calm and accepting. The themes tackled in this film are still prevalent today, and sometimes more so in the country where I live in. But the eternal optimist in me cannot be held back for long. Surely..surely..somebody will see the pure heart of people who are like Heizaburo..- only judged for his appearance and the unfortunate circumstances in which he is not allowed to explain his side.