When he is not directing episodes for series like “Tokyo Vice” and “Shogun”, Takeshi Fukunaga usually deals with the Ainu. After “Ainu Mosir” back in 2020, he has come up with a documentary this time, which takes an approach that frequently looks like that of a feature film. The title of the movie represents the cultural and spiritual practices, the daily activities, and the moral principles that guide the Ainu lifestyle, emphasizing respect for nature, spiritual beliefs, and communal living. This concept is central to the identity and heritage of the Ainu people.
Ainu Puri is screening at Busan International Film Festival
The film begins with Shigeki, an indigenous Ainu from Shiranuka, Hokkaido, going Marek fishing with his 10-year-old son Motoki. As we hear him talk about the fact that the Ainu believe gods exist in every thing, we see him exhibiting and teaching to his son, the rituals involved in both before and after the fishing, with the hitting on the head to the fish while apologizing in a way, being quite indicative. Fukunaga follows the family, including Fujiko, the mother, in their everyday life, where they comment on the issues they have, the tragedy they have experienced, and the fact that they are happy and moving on as time passes. As such, bullying in school has been exchanged with a fascination about the Ainu nowadays, to a point at least, although the structural issues having to do with their identity and culture, as much as fishing and hunting rights still persist.
As a second point of focus, Ryutaru and Satoru, two more Ainu, also take up a large part of the documentary. Particularly the first, with his involvement in the traditional dancing and performance of the Ainu, and his effort to commercialize it in order to both find money for a group of people who are still poor and to promote and preserve their culture, looks almost heroic. The training of kids both in language and the aforementioned, the rehearsals and the actual performances take a large part of the documentary, in a part that could have been a bit more restricted, but given the purpose of the movie, which seems to mirror that of Ryutaru, is justified.
The combination of all the aforementioned works quite well throughout the movie, with Keiko Deguchi and Takuya Kawakami’s editing emerging as one of the movie’s best traits, particularly in the way the various segments interchange. Furthermore, the way they are all combined in order to present a compact story is truly impressive, with one of the last scenes essentially functioning as a kind of happy ending.
It also helps a lot that many night scenes are exquisitely shot, with the quality of Erik Shirai’s cinematography being one of the main reasons, along with the aforementioned approach to the story, that allow the movie to unfold like a feature. Furthermore, at 81 minutes, “Ainu Puri” does not overextend its welcome in particular, while the way the narrative comes full circle in the end is also impressive.
“Ainu Puri” is an excellent documentary that realistically portrays the lives of Ainu nowadays, without exoticizing or dramatizing it, in an approach that is definitely refreshing.
