“Inu-oh”: How Masaaki Yuasa Turns Noh Theater into Rock Opera

ANIMEThe Japanese director of “Ride Your Wave” mixes modern and traditional music for the spellbinding “Inu-oh” in theaters this Wednesday “Inu-oh”: How Masaaki Yuasa turns nô theater into rock opera — 20 Minutes

< li>A monk and a deformed being revolutionize Noh theater in the 14th century.
• “Inu-oh” evokes the friendship of this creative duo with great originality.
• Music and images intertwine to form a singular animated film.

Japanese director Maasaki Yuasa, known for Ride the Wave, is the first to recognize it. His animated film Inu-ohwhich hits theaters this Wednesday is not an easily accessible work. Friendship between a monk playing a blind biwa (traditional Japanese guitar) and a terribly deformed being takes the viewer back to the 14th century. “They revolutionized the nô theater, explained the filmmaker to 20 Minutes. And I wanted to try to make their work accessible to young audiences.”

Everything for the music

This breathtaking tale both visually and musically, received a triumphant welcome at the Annecy festival where the director ofLou and the Mermaid Island was honored; as sponsor of MIFA, the market from the film of the demonstration. “Music has always been about music. an essential element in my films, specifies the filmmaker, but in Inu-oh, I went further than usual by showing my heroes as rock stars and treating each song as a character.”

The soundtrack of the film, which we owe to Otomo Yoshihide, is a major asset of a very original work combining several visual styles to confuse a spectator who lets himself be bewitched by discovering a fantasized medieval Japan. “Reality history was not my main concern, insists the director. My wish was to restore the atmosphere of the concerts of the time which I imagined as passionate as that of the concerts of today.” These two heroes rely on each other to deliver high-energy performances that unleash the enthusiasm of crowds of fans cause jealousy and rivalry.

Based on a great novel

“Animation is a collective process, stresses Maasaki Yuasa. And this binôme where each brings their gift to create a complete work reminds me of my own collaborations with the artists around me.” The dances and songs, hypnotic or catchy, carry an amazed audience. in a universe as exotic as it is singular, that of the King dog, a classic of Japanese literature signed; Hideo Furukawa.

“I was aware that I was risking a great deal by attacking me. such a monument, recognizes the filmmaker, but it’s also this challenge that motivated me: I wanted to stand out from an overly formatted Japanese animation.” Certainly Inu-oh is nothing like “anime” of high consumption. This demanding and whimsical film takes on the appearance of a hallucinated trip. to operate its singular charm.