Ainu Mosir

1.5/4

Starring: Kanto Shimokura, Debo Akibe

Not Rated (probable PG-13 for A Disturbing Ritual)

Can the old ways survive into modernity?  I mean, can the traditions that bind a community and a culture survive against the influence of the current world?  Certainly globalization has its perks, and the exchange of ideas has led to an increase in wealth, the rise of technology and critical thinking.  But no one claim that with an increasingly homogenized society, much is being lost.  Is it possible for the ancient traditions to be relevant in our world?

Debo (Akibe) thinks so.  Despite the tourists greatly outnumbering the actual members of the Ainu community, he insists on keeping the culture alive.  Kanto (Shimokura) isn't so sure.  His small town is stifling him and he longs to get out.  He and his friends are more interested in sports and music than the rituals that the members of his community perform for the tourists.  It appears to be a losing battle; Kanto and his friends could care less and the elders aren't even sure how the ritual is supposed to go.  But Debo presses on.

The movie raises some interesting ideas, but there is a problem: the film is dull.  This is a slice of life drama, which is fine.  But in order to work there has to be a strong central character and a sense of forward momentum.  But there isn't.  We don't know much about the characters, or more surprisingly, Ainu culture.  It could be that this film was designed for a very limited audience.  That's fine, but a primer on the culture it presents would have helped.

There are two actors with any screen time, and they are Kanto Shimokura and Debo Akibe.  Neither is a professional actor (based on a cursory look on IMDb, this film didn't use anyone with previous acting experience), but both do solid jobs.  Akibe is worth mentioning because his character undergoes a big and unexpected transformation.  His initial appearance is that of a father figure, but at about the halfway mark it turns darker.  Kanto Shimokura is uncanny in his portrayal of a teenager: sullen, uncommunicative with adults, and seemingly unenthusiastic about anything.

The problem is that writer/director Takeshi Fukunaga doesn't have a plot.  Ostensibly it's about the community ritual spearheaded by Debo and Kanto's need to get over the death of his father, but Fukunaga falls into the trap of getting sidetracked by the minutiae.  It's a common problem for indie filmmakers and wannabe auteurs to become obsessed with the little inconsequential moments to ground the film and make it more real, but a little of that goes a long way.  Even though "Ainu Mosir" is a only 85 minutes long, it is dithers into material better left on the cutting room floor.  Maybe he was trying to make a Dogma 95 film, but the film looks too good for that.  He also believes that any sort of emotional involvement is to be avoided at all costs, which makes watching the film even more of a trial.

"Ainu Mosir" has some interesting stuff and manages to present an effective scene on occasion.  But the film is just really dull.