The underwater scenes in Toshiharu Ikeda's Mermaid Legend have convey a primal power in their classical elegance. Through the dance of light, color, and music, something within comes to life. This bloody revenge drama could easily have fallen prey to genre cliches and predictability, and while the plot itself is rather straightforward (a fisherman is murdered by corporate thugs after he witnesses the murder of a friend opposed to the construction of a nuclear power plant), there is something fulfilling and spiritual about this film, right down to its fantastical and rather heartwarming ending. With that said, this is a blood-soaked film, and there are sequences of horrific cruelty and sadism, but it never feels gratuitous or unnecessary. Ikeda directs with a confidence in his material. Mari Shirato, who plays the heroine, embodies elemental rage and fury, her beauty radiating with a righteous anger. Though the film has political elements, Ikeda places these beneath the classical drama of primeval emotions. Life first emerged from the ocean, and to the ocean it returns. Like the ubiquitous ending of Kiss Me Deadly, the entirety of Mermaid Legend reflects the cyclical nature of life, and its passions and energies.
Comments
Post a Comment