INU-OH

A cultural revolution is afoot in 14th century Japan. Tomona, a blind priest and biwa player, and Inu-Oh, a descendant of respected Noh performers forced to hide his physical appearance from the world, join hands to break away from the customs of their guilds and write the songs they want. In this, they find inspiration in the fallen soldiers of a decisive 11th century battle whose events continue to plague the ruling shogunate. As the two musicians enrapture the population with their trailblazing performances, the old guard moves to clamp them down.

In his latest feature INU-OH, veteran animator Yuasa Masaaki pushes his tendency to commingle realism and fantasy to its limits, reimagining the two dissident artists as modern-day rockstars producing elaborate light-and-sound shows in front of a crazed, shrieking audience in period costume. The irreverence of this anachronistic mirrors the musicians’ disregard for tradition, deepening their distance from their predecessors. Equally characteristic is Yuasa’s casual bending of genres, with his film drawing liberally from revenge sagas, historical epics and concert movies.

INU-OH does not disguise its political commentary, and its tale of ruling powers seeking to silence voices deviating from the official canon is all too contemporary. Above all, Yuasa’s film is a resplendent song of triumph to outsiders, the eccentrics, rebels and losers of history.

– Srikanth Srinivasan