In theaters since Wednesday, “Inu-oh” marks the return of “Mind Game” and “Devilman Crybaby” director Masaaki Yuasa.
Inu-oh by Masaaki Yuasa
With the French voices of Rémi Caillebot and Maxime Donnay
What is it about ? Innu-oh, cursed creature, was born with a physical peculiarity obliging him to hide every part of his body. His life as a lone outcast changes when he meets Tomona, a blind Biwa player. Together, they create a unique duo that fascinates the crowds and becomes Japan’s first celebrities. To discover the truth about the curse of Inu-oh, they will have to continue dancing and singing, at the risk of disturbing the established order.
Statement of intent
Star Invest Films France
With Inu-oh, Masaaki Yuasa offers spectators “go back 600 years, thanks to the biwa-hoshi, monks-blind-players of biwa. It was a chaotic time. The destiny of each then depended on his social class. To rise in society, the poor n had no choice but to become a samurai or an artist. The life they led is beyond anything you can imagine. Most of the stories about them having now disappeared, this film “collects” one of between them.”
The Tale of the Heike
Star Invest Films France
the Heike monogatari (or The Tale of the Heike) is a major text in Japanese literature, comparable to The Iliad and The Odysseywhich recounts the great founding epic of the 13th century samurai caste.
This epic in prose (except for the first eight lines which constitute a short poem), born from the oral tradition of blind troubadours and Biwa lute players, traces the power struggle between the Heike and Minamoto clans for control from Japan.
From its appearance, the Tale of the Heike exerted an elusive influence in literary mythology for centuries to come. Elusive, it is also by nature: many authors who contributed to its writing have never been officially recognized. Writers, playwrights, musicians, public speakers have thus taken up the torch and brought their stone to the building, sometimes making personal additions.
Inu-oh is an adaptation of the novel The Dog King by Hideo Furukawa published in 2017. In this book, the author in turn offers a new episode of the Tale of the Heike by mixing legends and historical facts.
A real but mysterious character
Star Invest Films France
Inu-oh is a character who really existed and of which there are only a few traces today. Precursor of the Nô theater, but qualified as “sarugaku” (“antics”), this art then at a juvenile stage is comparable to the fairground shows of urban acrobats.
If no work by Inu-oh has come down to us to date, the complexity and richness of his mysterious existence make him a captivating subject because of his orality, his ephemeral character, his memory, and the prowess of his stage performances. .
A major manga author
Star Invest Films France
Creator of the characters of the film, Taiyō Matsumoto is a prolific manga author and a recognized illustrator, to whom we owe in particular Bitter Concrete and table tennis. In 2019, the Angoulême International Comics Festival devoted an exceptional retrospective exhibition to him.
The voice of Inu-Oh
Star Invest Films France
In the original version, Inu-oh is voiced by Avu-chan, voice and face of the group Ziyoou-vachi (Queen Bee). This transgender artist of Afro-American and Japanese origin notably took over the title stayin’ alive for the Bullet Train soundtrack.