PRINCESS FROM THE MOON
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1989 Thomas E. Billings
Synopsis: In feudal Japan, a poor bamboo-cutter finds an abandoned infant girl. He raises her as his daughter, and she grows up to be a beautiful young woman. The nobles at the Emperor's court compete for her hand in marriage, but there is a problem: she is really from the moon!
Japan (Japanese with English subtitles), color, 1987, 121 minutes.
Director: Kon Ichikawa Principal cast: Toshiro Mifune, Ayako Wakao, Yasuko Sawaguchi Print Source: Toho International Ltd.
This film is based on a popular children's story in Japan, "Taketori monogatari" (the tale of the bamboo-cutter). The story concerns a poor bamboo- cutter (played by Toshiro Mifune) who finds a child inside a metal container (that strongly resembles a giant bamboo sprout) in the forest. It turns out to be a young girl, and she looks just like his recently deceased infant daughter Kaya. The bamboo-cutter and his wife accept the girl as a divine gift, and raise her as their own daughter (of course they name her Kaya).
Kaya quickly grows up to become an extremely beautiful young woman, and three of the nobles in the Emperor's court propose marriage to her. The nobles compete with each other in performing incredible feats to win her hand in marriage. However, there is a serious problem: she is an extra-terrestrial, and she must return to the moon, her real home.
This film is a bit unusual in that there is plenty to both like and dislike in it. Let me deal with the negatives first. At 121 minutes, it is a bit too long. Although it is generally interesting, the story line moves rather slowly at times. Portions of the film were out of focus; it is not clear whether that was a film or projection problem. Finally, certain parts of the film are clear imitations of another film, Spielberg's CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BORING KIND (obviously I'm not a Spielberg fan!). Fortunately, this film is far more interesting than the tedious and pretentious CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. In terms of quality, the film is comparable to the very best made for television movies.
On the positive side, the film is relatively interesting, and one can immediately identify with many of the main characters. Some (but not all) of the special effects are good. The film is very sentimental, and will produce a positive emotional reaction in most viewers. Thus I expect that, despite its technical flaws, most viewers will find the film worth seeing.
Overall evaluation: good. Worthy of consideration for its sentimental value; a nice story.
Reviewer: Thomas E. Billings, Department of Statistics University of California, Berkeley Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
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