*!minor SPOILER alert!*
There is a lot that will remain in doubt about the purposes, directions, meanings and implications of the style of cinema this 3-part screenplay represents. Mainly this has to do with the all-too-Oriental content and the all-too-typical form this story takes.
One pointer is the fact that some sort of local Cultural Sponsoring is behind the production of this historical trilogy...
The historical politics of the early medieval (if you allow my using a Western time-scale) kingdoms and reigns, in an area that is today mostly Japan and Korea, is far too esoteric an interest for a casual Takashi Miike fan.
Let me set the scene for you: 7th century, Yamato Imperial Government, warring tribes of the isles and lands of East Asia... All this in a framework of magically interpreted National (which in this case encompasses tribes beyond merely heartland Honshuu) History.
This is not for the Miike-minded, but for the Myth-minded.
So: Content-wise, the national-chauvinistic pathos that characterizes all historical mythologies of nations and peoples is here at full bloom.
You know, unless you're willing to put your heart and soul to understanding the deep spiritual roots of modern day Japan ("Wa"), as well of Korea ("Kudara" etc.) and the Orient in general, you won't "get it"!
That's the content. The form, interestingly enough, takes on a visual look that manages to blend Anime dramaturgy (i.e. Japanese mythology spiced up by CGI graphics) with Western camera techniques.
On the underwhelming side, the CGI fire arrows crisscrossing the screen at the speed of levitating mules or, for the matter, the rest of the cheap theatrics of an underfunded b-class production like this don't impress much: The artificial fog is (partly deliberately, partly due to a limited budget no doubt) really artificial-looking, while the CG dragons look superimposed, kinda like incidental CG videos in 2-d playstation role playing games...
On the overwhelming side... Well, the seriousness of production is staggering. The antics of drama, death, love and rebirth are acted out perfectly - that is to say: overacted, but that's just the same - The line between Drama and Melodrama was never a thick one.
But, this is all actually not that important to hear...
What you want to hear is: Does it entertain?
And yes it does! Each part does. I'll go through each of them, from the story's point of view.
1) The first part is a typical example of how sexual rolemodels tie in to national pride: The Girl becomes the Heroine by sacrificing herself ultimately to the masculine destiny of the nation and its Boys, Husbands, Heroes.
Lots of pretty pictures - and lots of rubbish CGI - convey that message well enough.
Heavy and dark undertones...
Typical mythology, very Tolkien-ish (from my Western POV) in fact: all the way to the Dark Knights and the magic caves.
2) The second part puts us again at the literal forefront of the strife and warring between the Koreans and the Japanese.
It's interesting how the unabashed "patriotism" (with values of Sacrifice and Land) combines with a rather conciliatory message of international toleration. Really, this is not at all only from the Japanese point of view, since the first part for example deals with the Koreans as the "We", and the Japanese as the "Them".
Kinds of "blue screen" backgrounds and CGI effects make the scenery look even more unreal that it otherwise would be: hypergreen, hyperreal.
The truly odd admixture of the East and the West finally hits through at the golden, tragicomic, B-film moment where one of the actors looks at the camera and urges you to "remove your 3-d classes at the audience on the count of 3" - apparently they still have 3-d theaters somewhere...
Shockingly tragicomic - pure "camp", in other words.
That combination of very bad CGI and very bad acting makes this "trilogy" an abominable piece of art, but a fascinating curiosity, an an entertaining watch.
Also, the perfectly amicable lesson on the positive influences of Kudara's (Korean) culture onto Japanese history is simply so wonderful that no cold-hearted fool could overlook the beauty of a proud heritage.
3) The third part, the longest of the three (in a trilogy totalling 2 hours), forwards into late middle ages: Enter samurai.
The production here peaked, as the story ties to the present. Now the national heritage foundation is happy. Go visit their sites. ...
I DO recommend this as a curiosity, but it's definitely not Miike's zenith, nor is it worth seeing more than once.
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