Review: Oi, Oui. The latter half of the film is too…

The latter half of the film is too bland and leaves something to be desired

A period drama depicting the lives of Edo’s genius painter Katsushika Hokusai and his daughter Oei. Starring Masami Nagasawa and Masatoshi Nagase, it carefully portrays the quiet relationship between the painter father and daughter. Based on Hinako Sugiura’s manga “Sarusuberi,” the film diverges from the source material in its latter half. No significant events occur; it merely depicts the father and daughter growing old together as time passes. The director’s intentions seem to fall flat, leaving the film feeling somewhat unsatisfying.

■Synopsis

Oei, the daughter of Katsushika Hokusai, one of the most representative painters of the late Edo period, returns to live with him. She had married into another painter’s household, but having grown up seeing the genius Hokusai’s paintings since childhood and possessing artistic talent herself, Oei harshly criticized her husband’s poor paintings and was divorced.

“I’ll be staying for a while,” Oei declares, moving into her father’s studio-cum-home in the back row of houses. Frequent visitors include Hatsugoro (Totoya Hokkei), one of Hokusai’s disciples, and Zenjirō (Keisai Eisen), who idolizes Hokusai and drops by constantly like an uninvited apprentice.

Oei looks up to Hatsugoro affectionately as “big brother” and harbors a faint romantic feeling for him. On the day of the river opening fireworks, Oei finds herself alone with Hatsugoro. Though he senses her feelings, he shows no sign of reciprocating them.

Hokusai was strict about painting, but also difficult. Oei inherited both his temperament and his talent. Though she had been married and returned home, she was utterly clumsy when it came to matters between men and women. Such was Oei that she too took up the brush and began to paint. Her artistic name is Katsushika Oui…

■ Impressions & Review

This period drama film is based on Iijima Kyoshin’s “The Life of Katsushika Hokusai” and Sugiura Hinako’s manga “Sarusuberi”. It chronologically depicts the period from Oei’s return from her husband’s home until Hokusai’s death. Masami Nagasawa plays the protagonist, Oui. Hokusai is played by Masatoshi Nagase. The persistent apprentice Zenjirō is played by Kaito Takahashi. The senior apprentice Hatsugorō is played by Ryohei Ohtani. Oei’s mother, Kotoni, is played by Shinobu Terajima — a truly stellar cast.

The original “Sarusuberi” was also adapted into a feature-length animated film by director Keiichi Hara ten years ago. While I felt it was a carefully crafted film, whether it was truly interesting is a bit questionable…

This film leaves a similar impression. While it feels meticulously crafted, it ended without leaving any particularly strong impression. The primary reason for this, I believe, is that the film couldn’t fully compensate for the sparse historical records about Katsushika Oui’s life with compelling fiction.

The film is dominated by episodes based on “Sarusuberi” from the beginning to the middle. After depicting Hokusai’s youngest daughter, O-Nao, and the episode corresponding to the original “Nowaki,” it devolves into a kind of “routine match” that merely follows the chronological lives of Hokusai and Oei.

Simply put, nothing happens. Years pass without any significant events, and Hokusai and Oui grow old. It’s impressive to see Masatoshi Nagase gradually age through special makeup, and it’s interesting to watch Masami Nagasawa become middle-aged without any makeup. But to end the film on that note alone feels unsatisfying.

The original manga “Sarusuberi” depicts a few years during Hokusai’s prime, but this film extends to his final years. Presumably, director Tatsushi Omori had something he wanted to portray there. Yet, even after watching the film, it remains unclear what that something is. The people introduced in the first half exit, leaving just father and daughter. Time passes without any semblance of a story. Particularly the latter half feels like a film that’s a bit hard to grasp.

109 Cinemas Kiba (Theater 4)
Distributed by: Tokyo Theatres, Yoake
2025｜2 hours 2 minutes｜Japan｜Color
Official Website: https://oioui.com/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37675771/