A different way of telling a story

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Ryuhei Kitamura's entry for the "Duel" project is a 70 minute samurai movie taking place in an old abandoned temple.It's a slow opening build up. Two men, one a wounded samurai, the other a mysterious monk living in a forgotten temple spend their time in conversation, waiting for the storm outside to end . Their backgrounds and motives become apparent establishing "who" are these two men and setting up the scene of confrontation between them. Unlike most other movies this one lacks a clear antagonist, the two leads are described as men of honor each with his own different point of view. So when their duel begins it becomes even more effective as it is not just choreography and camera works that makes the battle good but also because both these men are likable. Kitamura's decision to keep the battle for the final part of the film proves to be a correct one, as tension builds up between the two leads with each and every revelation, setting their motivation for whats coming.Considering that the whole movie took place in just one room, the fight scene was pretty impressive with Kitamura demonstrating some very nice camera-work, following the swordplay in an almost perfect rhythm. The choreography is also top notch once again proving that Kitamura is able to create memorable and stylish fight scenes without the necessarily needed high budget. Considering that the whole battle took place in just one room. The ending while a bit too similar to that of "Versus" fits the story's direction nicely with a ironic "the hunted becomes the hunter" type finale. "Aragami" is not an over the top, high-paced, non-stop as "Versus" instead it relies more on character to set it's tone for the finale. And with just about the right length so that it doesn't begin to drag on too much, Ryuhei Kitamura's Aragami is a very enjoyable samurai film.

When you're preparing yourself to tune in to a Ryuhei Kitamura movie, you know that the experience will be intense, original and it will most likely make you hunger for more. I am a fan of this director and 'Aragami' didn't disappoint me. The plot were at first quite mystic to me when reading it, but I got caught up fast with the plot once the movie had started. Kitamura's movies in my humble opinion often have great dialogs but 'Aragami' has something beyond this - the dialogs are superb. Anyone doubting in Japanese movies should give this a try if you have a special liking about samurais and mystical magics. Another great reason to not give Hollywood a second thought. This movie quickly turns out to be one amongst my favorite Kitamura movies. 9/10!

Cool dance music + Cool demonic atmosphere + Cool kung fu type Swordplay = Nice little Samurai campfire story made into a film. If you enjoy martial arts and the supernatural done in a manga/anime style, you'll have a blast. No it's not Akira Kurosawa, more like Onimusha the video game. (The director also worked on the video game Metal Gear Solid the Twin Snakes.) Enjoy the hairstyles and the wisecracks. Little smirks go a long way. Ninja stars really wouldn't do against a sword would they? Imagine an acid trip of a Samurai tall tale. You get the picture.The dialog had me in stitches at times as well as the expressions on the faces. Masaya Kato the "Aragami" steals the show. You can tell he had a good time being Samurai/Demon/Comic. Already a cult film in my view. More movies like this please!

Made in one set, with three principal actors, and over seven days, Aragami impresses far more than the more immature Versus. Setting himself the task of shooting an action movie in one room (itself a possible contradiction in terms) the constraints ultimately make for a much more satisfying and engrossing experience than his previous, overrated breakthrough film - which was too carelessly off the wall and derivative to impress this viewer. As a project Aragami also contrasts strongly with the much more opened out Azumi (another personal favourite), which replaced the gloomy interiors and philosophising of Aragami with something much more kinetic and light hearted.At heart Aragami is a film about knowing who you are, and both Osawa (who has since appeared in the less concentrated Sky High) and Masaya Kato are excellent in roles which, like chamber music, leave every flaw in performance likely to be exposed. Obviously written at speed, the film's pay off could have been more enlightening (but perhaps a touch of obscurity in this sort of thing is a benefit, especially at a time when Hollywood genre efforts typically feel obliged to spell everything out), but fans won't argue too much and interpretations are easy to make. The wonder of the film is that the director was able to stage and direct two action scenes - one short, one more extended - with such gusto and convincing moves, given the tight shooting schedule and limitation of the set, while still allowing himself time for empathetic set ups during slower moments. It requires the ingenuity and confidence of a Roger Corman to bring this thing off, raising such stuff above straight-to-video fodder, and Kitamura succeeds magnificently.Ignore those who claim the film is 'too talky', for none of the chat is wasted (there's none of the narrative indulgence seen in the recent Sky High, for instance), the actors have enough presence to carry it off, and time spent with them never palls. Over 79 minutes nothing drags, and the changing relationship between the samurai and the goblin provide constant interest. The developing duel between the two principals neatly reflects back to the friendly rivalry between Kitamura and his fellow director Tsutsumi which originally initiated the film. If you are tired of bloated Hollywood mega-buck productions and want to get back to the basics of purposeful dialogue, imaginative stageing and thought-through editing - in short, lean, popcorn pumping cinema - then this is a film you need to see.