Goemon is a new movie adaptation of the tale of the Japanese Robin Hood figure who has appeared in countless movies, TV shows and games throughout the years. But this time around can the Japanese movie industry’s finest remix the legend enough to capture the imaginations of the world as well Kitano Takeshi did with his adaptation of the Zatoichi myth? Yes.
So we’ve given away the ending and in doing so we’ve already been more postmodern than Goemon manages in its one and a half hour running time. But you can’t stay mad at the movie for that because it gets so much right. Made on a shoestring budget (in Hollywood terms) the movie manages a grand scope and keeps its characters interesting and their relationships centre stage. All the fantastic action scenes are justified by the gripping narrative and never made to feel like tiresome CGI wankfests.
Factoid: The Goemon legend tells of a thief who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor and was finally boiled in oil with his son by Toyotomi Hideshi. In some retellings of the tale Goemon holds his son aloft to spare him from the bubbly death.
Goemon is played excellently by Yosuke Eguchi and his counterpart, rival and the man who takes his place in the boiling oil of legend is played by Takao Osawa. It’s an interesting “I’m Spartacus” style take on the legend. Interestingly, (again a relative term) the large, kettle-shaped iron bathtub in which Goemon is said to have been killed is now known as a Goemon-buro (“Goemon Bath”).
The movie gives an interesting insight into the national perception of Nobunaga Oda as a kind of heroic leader and hero to the nation and of Toyotomi Hideyoshi as a snivelling, backstabbing, bloodthirsty lunatic who took the reigns of Japan by treachery and then dragged it into a moral quagmire.
The visual style of the movie makes the most of the fable style to hide the “Babylon 5″ style shortcomings in its special effects. As such all of the CGI is stylised and never has to live up to the task of looking real. In many ways it is reminiscent of its predecessor Casshern but whereas that movie’s numbing CGI mayhem left one cold within minutes, Goemon never strays far from its excellently-paced legend and thus stays involving, despite its length.
Factoid: Japanese society, honour, respect and narratives prize the value of gaman very highly indeed. This is the quality of being able to endure until death without a word of complaint. Of Rice and Zen has a theory that all successful Japanese boys’ adventure story heroes must fulfill the fantasy of escaping the rigid hierarchy of society, while also being endowed with an inhuman slice of gaman to ensure the audience the blubs like babies. As such, Wall-E should be a huge hit here.
It is also worth drawing comparisons with Samurai Champloo for the similarity of its main characters Mugen and Goemon. The similarity of their names is perhaps no coincidence as both are portrayed as nigh invincible warriors who place jiyuu (freedom, individuality) at the core of their credo in a time when everyone in Japanese society seemed almost entirely beholden to someone else.
Both are rebellious outsiders whose skills far surpass those of the evil empire to the extent that they are able to transgress society’s rules and escape the consequences. As an example of wish-fulfillment in fiction its easy to see why this particular fantasy should appeal to the socially oppressed Japanese people. In fact the only difference between the belligerent Mugen and Goemon could be that Goemon is a trained product of the system he now shuns and that he sticks close enough to the legend to actually give a couple of his ill-gotten koban back to the peasants who cheer him on.
And he doesn’t break dance. Characters in kimono doing modern dance moves do appear in this movie, but that’s been a legal requirement since the release of Zatoichi. Despite that its a welcome addition and certainly livens up the starts of the movie.
Factoid: Like Robin Hood and William Wallace facts, historical records and evidence of his existence are scant at best. However, most Japanese seem to agree that he was boiled alive by Toyotomi Hideyoshi after a failed assassination attempt.
The movie isn’t without its shortcomings of course. It still relies on the traditional “overwrought screaming” style of Japanese drama that is often less effective than a little restraint (irony: westerner complains about lack of restraint in Japan). Perhaps a tendency to eschew the cool/modern opening of the movie and settle into homogeneous melodrama at times. But really how could fable do otherwise. The shouting can be heard to reverberate in the confined recording studio when it should have the aural qualities of the wide open space that screamer is in. A certain amount of post-dubbing is often unavoidable, but 300 managed to make the screamers… I mean speakers sound like they weren’t on a green-screen stage.
Factoid: According to the legends Goemon was discovered by Hideyoshi’s mystical incense burner that detected intruders. Or a bell he knocked off a table. Or a prized songbird he stole that sang and gave away his location. Although to be fair if he had really had the nouse to get to Toyotomi’s prized pet in the first you’d think he’d have to smarts to foresee the eventuality that the bird might sing.
This is the kind of spit and polish that Hollywood’s giant budgets have helped us grow accustomed to, but really they are small complaints and one suspects they will be remedied by the team’s follow-up which is certain to be granted a budget twice the size.
Factoid: Goemon is the subject of several kabuki plays, one of which, called The Golden Gate and the Paulownia Crest, is still performed today. It was written Namiki Gohei in 1778. In the most famous act of the play Goemon is seen sitting on top of the Sanmon gate of Nanzen-ji in Kyoto.
So in short, how could the Japanese rival to 300 do anything more than offer you gigantic armies clashing, slow-motion blood sprays, massive body counts, tear-jerking melodrama and lots of shouting? If you liked that, you’ll love this. If you like fantastic CGI recreations of feudal Japan you’ll love this. If you like people taking massive liberties with history you’ll love this. It is excess in a particularly Japanese way and deserves to be subtitled and distributed around the world. Which it will be, by the good folks at Warner Bros.
Check it out at the movie theatres when the translators have finished their good work, rather than streaming a shoddy pirate copy.
Factoid: Goemon is at least part Chinese. In the The Golden Gate and the Paulownia Crest Goemon’s fated crash-course with Toyotomi Hideyoshi is caused by the latter’s murder of the former’s father So Sokei, a Chinese man.
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