MovieChat Forums > Mushishi (2007) Discussion > Quick review

Quick review

posted 17 years ago by kerecsen
2 replies | jump to latest

I got a chance to see this at a Sundance screening.

A bit of explanation: in the universe of the movie, bugs are soul-chunks that live as small, invisible (to most people) creatures and sometimes occupy human bodies to feed off of, causing illness or extraordinary talents.

The movie follows the life of a young Bugmaster, a traveling doctor of sorts specializing in the research of bugs and the treatment of illnesses caused by them. The Bugmaster finds himself in search of his origins and lost memories to explain how he became what he is.

Bugs are brought onto the screen by CGI effects, causing an unexpected but very exciting fusion between the classical visuals of the live-action movie and the high-tech flashiness of the CGI creatures. Note that despite its anime roots, Bugmaster doesn't contain any fighting, T&A or other similar pursuits.

As Japanese movies wont, this piece is a bit too philosophical and overlong for its own good. But between the beautiful scenery, pretty CGI and unusual story, I only occasionally found myself bored. I recommend seeing this movie if you are in a mood for something decidedly non-Hollywood, and you are ready to immerse yourself in a fantasy world for a couple of hours.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] AlexJTaylor 17 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts in this review.

I'm already a huge fan of Mushishi, by way of fansubbed episodes of the anime series and the recent domestic release of the first volume of the original manga, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this live-action film version turned out.

I've seen a few negative reviews here and there, but I'm still optimistic. I don't expect it to be perfect by any means (or even as good as the anime or manga versions), but your review makes it sound pretty much like the film I've been hoping to see all along - reading words such as "beautiful scenery", "pretty CGI" and "decidedly non-Hollywood" was definitely encouraging.

-Alex