Region 2 DVD. pub: Revolver Entertainment B000YDAJMW. 131 minute film. Price: £19.99 (UK) although can be gotten cheaper if you know where to look at £ 6.98 (UK)). . director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo.

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OK if you're into fast paced film with everything given to you on a plate then look away now. For those that are left then if you enjoy a slowly evolving film that beautifully takes its time with cinematography and beautifully intergraded CGI and an almost believable fictional Japanese mythology then keep reading.

For fans of the anime or manga then this film will be very familiar as it takes many elements from the original Urushibara Yuki's manga and keeps relatively faithful. It follows a Mushishi (or as it's referred to in the sub-titles a 'Bug Master') known as Ginko. OK, first pet hate. This film refers to Mushi as bugs which the anime does not. I don't think this is the best word to use for Mushi and leads the casual watcher to the wrong idea and impression of this story. Mushi are life entities that inhabit a world between life and death. Only certain people can see them or only become aware of them if they group together some times. There is a vast array of types of Mushi and this is what Ginko studies. He travels around trying to help people but also in a way he tries to help the Mushi. There is a wonderful deep understanding of balance in all the different versions of Mushshi. Sometimes, if people interact with Mushi they become parasitical, causing various illnesses and impairments such as loss of hearing or losing ones sight. Not all interactions are harmful as we follow Ginko as he tries to help people who have interacted with Mushi as he travels across rural Japan. We get an insight into his childhood and how he came to lose his childhood memories. Ginko himself gets to confront the Mushi that affected himself as child and has been residual in his body ever since.



Jô Odagiri who plays Ginko does little for the character apart from looking like the anime and manga version of Ginko, playing the role in a very stoic and non-involving manner. The film, although long at 2 hours, suffers from the need to travel quickly through the various stories that are given much more time to develop in the anime and manga. I would hasten to add this is not a fast film and does drag at various points. The visuals are superb. I think director Katsuhiro Ôtomo, known for films like 'Steamboy' and 'Akira', falls into the trap of focusing to heavily on the sumptuous cinematography and imagery and loses his way in the storytelling. The CGI is seamless and quite gross at times. These Mushi look real in the film. There is still a lot to like and I think, in some respects, is a valiant effort to recreate a difficult world.

I don't think this version gives justice to the source material though. As a film it works but only just. Be aware as well a lot of things aren't explained at all. So if you like to know where things are from and going to then this probably isn't the film for you. The music is OK but not as enjoyable or creative as that of the anime series. If you're one for quiet contemplative films and don't mind sub-titles then you might enjoy this. I think fans of 'Mushi-Shi' will be a bit disappointed. All the pieces are there but it just somehow misses the mark.

Phil Jones