NYAFF XXIII Review: In BRUSH OF THE GOD, A Stroke Of Crowdsourced Excellence

5.5 min. read

I’m not as knowledgable on kaiju cinema as, say, our own Edward Orndorff is. It’s a space of cinema with a vast history of its own and it’s one that Keizo Murase has resided in for much of his life and career, and for this, I know about as much as I can through brief reasearch and some screening I can find available to me in the course of my week.

Thankfully, my latest opportune moment comes by way of Brush Of The God, another film that in a few ways brings me full circle after nearly twenty years of being a DVD collector. I watched the opening credits and saw that Yumiko Shaku and Shiro Sano were cast and the first time these actors hit my radar WAS in fact two decades ago when one of my earliest purchases from the now-defunct HKFlix online store was Shinsuke Sato’s The Princess Blade. They acted seperately in different story points of the film but it’s a fine little flick and I highly recommend it.

At any rate, these two thespians are here to proffer some solid lining to Murase one-and-only feature film credit in the director’s chair, crowdfunded over the last several years and produced accordingly with the support of fans. That support now lends a feature outing with young duo Rio Suzuki and Takeru Narahara in lead roles for a production prominently constructed with all sorts of practical assets for a quality that harkens back decades, honing in a nostalgic vision aimed at recapturing the magic of golden age suit acting and kaiju cinema.

This is the millieu we are immersed in for Brush Of The God as we follow Akari (Suzuki), granddaughter of late monster creator and tokusatsu modeler Kenzo Toriyama (Sano). During an exhibit hosted by her mother, Yuko (Shaku) to showcase her late father’s work, Akari stumbles upon classmate and yearning oktaku, Takuya (Narahara) whom she discovers is a hard core fan of Tomiyama’s work.

Akari isn’t at all humored and is moreso dismissive of Kenzo’s bequeathed works. However, it’s not until she and Takuya meet mystery man Hoizumi (Takumi Satoh) that Akari sooner discovers the destiny that awaits her. It all begins tying together after Hoizumi whips out an item, telling Akari to make sure the world doesn’t disappear, in a moment during which Akari and Takuya are mysteriously transported to a dimension. With no immediate way out, it’s up to Akari and Takuya to work together and work through and understand Kenzo’s old, unfinished script, if Akari is to not only find a way home, but to also save the world that is Kenzo’s creation.

The script in question pertains to exactly the film’s title, executing an inspired fish-out-of-water journey for two children trapped in a world of beauty both charming and deceitful, and with danger in all sizes lurking in various corners. Monsters, cute and adorable creatures, bumbling bandits, giant hero battles and close calls await as Akari must discover the answers to all the mysteries permeating her grandfather’s work, and its greater meaning.

There are some real and powerful moments in the second half of the film. One of my favorites brings Akari face-to-face with a giant four-headed Orochi and what happens next is nothing short of a miracle. Takuya’s role in all this is just as important as well given his natural enthusiasm for the genre which, to his dismay, is also his weakness in at least one scene that finds him being held hostage.

Even more pertinent to the story is Sano’s role as Kenzo who is seen in several flashbacks, a few of which show him in his workshop along with a much younger Yuko. There’s a scar on Yuko’s arm indicative of something a bit more traumatizing in Akari’s mind, but it’s precisely what underscores the importance of Akari’s journey into the world she and Takuya are thrust into that helps it all make sense by the end, bringing something much more emotive and palpable to the forefront.

The opening vignette and VFX stylist and sci-fi wizard Shinji Higuchi’s cameo aside, Murase’s Brush Of The God is a deserving, wholly welcome addition to the discussion among the fandom. His creative and visionary framework here comes off as a genuine love letter to the genre through and through, one that I’m certain kaiju and tokusatsu fans will discern for themselves. And, they’re gonna have a thrill doing it.

Brush Of The God was reviewed for the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival which runs from July 12 through July 28.