カミノフデ ～怪獣たちのいる島～ 「Kami no fude ~ Kaiju-tachi no iru shima ~」
Release Date: July 26th, 2024
Duration: 74 mins.
Director: Keizo Murase
Writer: Ken Nakazawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Rio Suzuki, Takeru Narahara, Takumi Saitoh, Shinji Higuchi, Yumiko Shaku, Shiro Sano,
Website Twitter: @Kaminofude IMDB
Brush of the God is billed as the first and last movie directed by 90-year-old Keizo Murase. If his age is surprising (I assume he was 88 when it went into production), the fact that he had not directed something sooner is even more of a surprise, especially if you know his influence.
Murase is a veteran sculptor, suit maker, and special effects man whose animatronics, monster costumes, miniatures, and models helped lay the groundwork for Showa-era (1926 – 1989) tokusatsu (special effects) and Kaiju (monster) eiga (movies). His work can be seen in Toho’s “Godzilla series” (1962-1993), Daiei’s “Gamera series” (1965-1968), the “Daimajin series” (1966), Tsuburaya Productions’ “Ultraman (1966),” Toei’s “Kamen Rider (1971),” and many more titles in Japan and abroad. Brush of the God, which was partly crowdfunded, acts as an affectionate tribute to those early special effects movies as well as a look back at his life.
Working with novelist Ken Nakazawa (creator of the story for the gekimation The Burning Buddha Man, Dir: Ujicha, 2013), Murase took an old idea that he cooked up with legendary Shaw Brothers Studio producer Chua Lam (The Cat 1992, City Hunter 1993, Thunderbolt 1995) when he was working in Hong Kong on The Mighty Peking Man (1977)¹. The story was originally set in China and while designs and sets were created, it was never made it into a film until now where it has been updated for modern sensibilities while adding a meta narrative that channels details of Murase’s own life and work into the story.
Viewers follow a high school girl named Akari Tokimiya (Rio Suzuki) and her classmate Takuya (Takeru Narahara), a tokusatsu superfan, when they are magicked into the cinematic worlds created by her late-grandfather Kenzo (Shiro Sano), a master special effects artist, after meeting a strange man named Hozumi (Takumi Saitoh) at her grandfather’s memorial service and receiving the titular “Brush of the God,” a prop from an unfinished movie Kenzo was making at the time he died.
For as much as this is a fantastical world-hopping adventure that takes Akari and Takuya outside of their everyday lives, from a mushroom-filled monster island, a la Matango (1963), to a mystical cave with a giant Daimajin-like figure, the real journey takes Akari inwards as, in order to get back to the real world, she must face unhappy family memories she has of the old man who dedicated his life to monster movies at the expense of family, all while being chased or aided by creatures created by him, including a fearsome Kaiju, the legendary Yamata-no-orochi, who is destroying everything in its path.
It is elemental stuff in terms of character development and dramatic story but broadly appealing as it features enough clear and emotionally satisfying forward movement to propel viewers forward. When this is coupled with a family-friendly adventure that also acts as a whistlestop tour of the traditional effects monster movies that Murase made, it works in a way that the audience is able to follow along easily and be like Akari and appreciate the skill that goes into making the movies and the movies themselves.
What makes this fantastical film broadly appealing is its Showa-era aesthetic approach to the variety of environments and the action.
Practical effects abound and allow for cute and scary creatures to fly around and flame-filled fiery explosions and chunky debris to shower the screen around them. The creatures and crafts range from the kitsch like stuffed rabbit-like animals and freaky insects to toy-like tanks. There is a mind-blowingly cool puppet, the multi-headed Orochi, which required multiple operators pulling on ropes attached to its heads and long necks. This creature is the highlight as it has such creepy snakelike movement and a feel of real heft when it tears through the miniature buildings like warehouses and distilleries that make up sets.
The best sequence is one where modern-day city comes under attack and the film’s theme music, complete with chanting kicks, into full gear as Orochi torches streets and crushes all before it. It is edge-of-the seat stuff because the physicality of the puppet adds a genuinely fearsomeness to its movement, especially as it is surrounded by spectacular crunchy effects, like walls of buildings flying around and sparks of fire. It all creates a pulse-quickening thrill to the action that CG just could not replicate it. Sometimes scenes are marred somewhat by clunky compositing and broad acting but this is a low-budget feature so easily forgivable, especially as the tone of the film is like that of a classic adventure and everyone on screen is committed to having fun.
Part of what makes the film work is the earnest performances of the lead actors but also seeing a line-up of tokusatsu luminaries who have been in major genre pictures in the recent past such as Takumi Saitoh (Shin Kamen Rider, Shin Ultraman, Shin Godzilla), Shinji Higuchi (co-director on Shin Godzilla), Yumiko Shaku (The Princess Blade, two Godzilla movies), Shiro Sano (Godzilla) show up and give committed performances makes this whole endeavour feel like a warm-hearted tributed to Murase’s life.
At a time when CG heavy movies Godzilla Minus One (2023) and the Legendary Pictures Monstervers are reinvigorating the interest in moviegoers for Kaiju eiga, Brush of the God is a blast from the past as it is very much in the vein of Showa-eiga effects films with lots of miniatures and puppets/suits crafted with traditional techniques. Basic nostalgia aside, the film features the sort of crunchy and colourful effects work that dazzles the eye while also linking thematically to the celebration of this art of filmmaking so that the film feels like a broadly entertaining and reverent title that shows off the joys of practical effects and a love of movie history.
¹ This article on Cool Ass Movies goes into detail on Murase’s work on The Mighty Peking Man and is a fun and informative read that shows you just what he got up to.
Toho Kingdom Interview with Murase