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(It's been a while since I saw this film and it's hard to find , or was, I think it can be found streaming now.)

While Osamu Tezuka is beloved and his presence is still very much in Japanese pop-culture 2020, even most Japanese are not aware that there was a live-action version of Tezuka's manga Hi No Tori (The Pheonix). Hi No Tori opened the same summer as Star Wars (which opened one year later than the US in Japan).

Kon Ichikawa's film is an oddball mix - an epic, violent, meditation on the meaning of existence yet also seems to be a kids movie. It's as if Disney made "Apocalypto" as popcorn movie. I haven't fully read the manga but have browsed thru it and from what I can tell the movie is quite faithful to the source material.

It's a huge cast and a sprawling story. The core story is of Sarutahaiko (Tomisaburo Wakayama) who takes under his wing instead of killing him, Nagi (Toshinori Omi ) a boy belonging to the tribe whose village he has just pillaged. In a plot twist usually not seen (at least in modern films) Sarutahaiko becomes Nagi's father figure even tho he killed Nagi's own father. Later they are joined by Kaoru Yumi as Uzume, who becomes Sarutahaiko's love interest. The trio is tossed about thru turbulent times trying to survive all kinds of tribal factions and obstacles. Later Uzume becomes the object of desire for Jingi the Conqueror played by Tatsuya Nakadai.

Throughout all this is the hunt for "Hi No Tori" a mystical bird whose blood can give eternal life. A powerful Queen lusts for the blood of the bird. The tone shifts wildly, there is light hearted humor yet the theme of death lies strong under the surface. Feels and looks like an epic historical drama, but then we even get an animated sequence for laughs. Imagine a live-action Disney movie for kids but with scenes of genocide, mass murder, torture and war. Beautiful cinematography in rugged locations in that old school cinematic style we just don't see any more and fascinating costumes of a pre-samurai era Japan, more akin to the Jomon Era Japan.

The name of filmmaker Ichikawa Kon carries a lot of weight, even for those generally unfamiliar with his works, and likewise that of manga artist Tezuka Osamu. Based on all past decades of the country's cinema, we also expect much of basically any discrete genre fare coming out of Japan - period films, tokusatsu, anime, and so on. With all this in mind, it's only reasonable to ponder how well a film adaptation of any prior material will hold up both on its own merits, and as treatment of that material, and moreover how accessible it will be for those unfamiliar with that previous work. When we're speaking of a live-action adaptation of manga, there's the additional question of how some storytelling ideas or sensibilities in one medium may not work as well in another. These are all substantial considerations to place on the shoulders of 'Phoenix' before we really even sit to watch. And once we do press "play?" Well, this is not the movie I thought it was going to be, that's for sure. Fairly or not, I entered with expectations that were mixed to high, and I'd be plainly lying if I said I weren't flummoxed and put off by what the picture actually represents. It had plenty of potential, but I don't think this is very good. In fact, I don't especially like it at all.

'Phoenix' is truly all over the place, with no particular consistency in how it is written or directed, in its tone, or otherwise. Some sequences are more earnestly dramatic with their airs of action, adventure, and/or fantasy, while others are parodic or outright farcical. Cartoonishness fit for Saturday morning cartoons comes out in the special effects, some practical effects, and sound effects, let alone in instances of animation that are injected amidst the proceedings - and even more so instances of animation that are laid on top of filmed footage. The latter range from embellishments, to violence, to a character literally seeing stars after taking a blow to the head. The editing ranges from suitable, to sloppy in most cases, to altogether dubious, and the sequencing badly chops up a saga that is already sorrily incogent and incohesive as it presents. All this same verbiage, every last trace of it, applies to other facets just as well, including Ichikawa's direction, the acting, the cinematography, and incredibly, even the music. Even the costume design, hair, and makeup, facets that broadly impress in most features, sometimes raise a quizzical eyebrow. Either this was trying to be many things at once, or it just floundered from the outset.

Maybe all this is more accurate to Tezuka's manga than I can fathom. Maybe screenwriter Tanikawa Shuntaro tried his best to adapt the manga and failed; maybe he just downright mangled it. Or maybe we can lay all the on the shoulders of Ichikawa with his direction, or producers Ichikawa Kiichi and Murai Kunihiko. There is a discernible story here, with discernible themes. To say these are "discernible" is definitely not the same thing as saying that the tale here is written well, or executed well. I see very clearly what 'Phoenix' could have been, but it desperately needed a singular, unified approach. It could have been a wild genre lark, or it could have been a sincere fantasy adventure with notions of import, and meaningful storytelling. The title instead tries to have it both ways - all ways, really - and as the doing is scattered or even nonsensical, the result comes off decidedly poorly when all is said and done. Yes, there is much to appreciate here in one regard or another when this is at its best: the costume design, the practical effects, the production design and art direction, the animation in and of itself, the music in and of itself, the committed performances, and so on. Would that any of it were tended in an even, uniform, mindful fashion.

There comes a point where it becomes all too easy to start to check out of the viewing experience, to begin to watch passively a flick that does not require active engagement, and absolutely does not inspire it. In a runtime of over two hours, that point comes aggravatingly early within the first hour. It's not that there's no value here; it's that there's not nearly enough value. It's not that there are no good ideas; it's that there aren't enough good ideas, and that they are as dust in the wind alongside many bad ones. For everything that 'Phoenix' had going for it, the sum total is exasperating and far less than entertaining, nevermind "absorbing" or "satisfying." I guess I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, but I'm inclined to think that those involved frankly lowered themselves with their participation. Whatever it is that you think you're going to get out of this film, seeing it from the outside looking in, I believe you're better off just not bothering with 'Phoenix' in the first place.