The Deer King (2022)

[鹿の王]

Director: Masashi Ando, Masayuki Miyaji
Starring: Shinichi Tsutsumi, Ryoma Takeuchi, Anne Watanabe

Synopsis:
A doctor seeks out the lone survivor of a supernatural plague in a bid to develop a cure while other powers have different plans for him.

Impressions:
I was looking forward to seeing this last September, but it got postponed due to the state of emergency at the time. It was originally supposed to be released in September of 2020, so I guess I should be thankful we didn't have a third delay. When I saw the trailer, I got a strong Princess Mononoke vibe, which is unsurprising as director Masashi Ando was the chief animation director of that film and co-director Masayuki Miyaji is a fellow Ghibli alum who was an assistant director on Spirited Away (where Ando was chief animation director there, too). With this sort of pedigree from the people headlining the film, I was expecting good things and I have to say that's what I got. I liked the setting and the thematic elements. The relationship between Van and Yuna is touching and Hossal is well-utilized as a sort of third-party perspective on the Zol-Aquafa conflict. However, I feel the story was bigger than the container it was given. If this wasn't an adaptation, I would've thought it better to trim back some of the subplots and keep the focus on Van and Hossal. I haven't read the original books, but I'm sure things are fleshed out more there. I would compare it to the film version of Nausicaä compared to the manga. Speaking of Ghibli comparisons, by the end I was feeling much as I did after seeing Tales from Earthsea. I'd say this is a notch or two above that film, but short of the heights of Princess Mononoke, not that I was expecting quite that much out of this movie. In the final tally, I'd say it's definitely worth watching but not quite a must-have.

Rating:
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