Japan / 2016 / 70 min. / Director: NIWATSUKINO Norihiro
Ninko, a sober and honest trainee monk, has a problem: for some reason, women of all ages find him to be irresistibly attractive. The constant temptation is almost driving him insane, so he sets off on a journey to rediscover himself. During his travels, he meets a masterless samurai named Kanzo, and they arrive together at a desolate village where they are asked by the village headman to put down a supernatural creature called a “yama onna” (mountain woman) that drains men of their vigor. And so, Ninko and Kanzo head into the mountains... A fantastic and skillfully edited “yokai" (traditional Japanese monsters) tale that intersperses animation and visual effects to great effect. Four years in the making, this is the feature debut of NIWATSUKINO Norihiro, a freelance director who has worked in a variety of genres.
