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Kûkai

  • 2017
  • TV-14
  • 2h 9m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
Sandrine Pinna in Kûkai (2017)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:08
1 Video
99+ Photos
AdventureDramaFamilyFantasy

When a demon cat appears and breaks the peace of Chang'an City, causing a series of strange events, poet Bai Letian and monk Kukai join hands to investigate the death of the emperor's concub... Read allWhen a demon cat appears and breaks the peace of Chang'an City, causing a series of strange events, poet Bai Letian and monk Kukai join hands to investigate the death of the emperor's concubine by following the trail left by the cat.When a demon cat appears and breaks the peace of Chang'an City, causing a series of strange events, poet Bai Letian and monk Kukai join hands to investigate the death of the emperor's concubine by following the trail left by the cat.

  • Director
    • Kaige Chen
  • Writers
    • Baku Yumemakura
    • Kaige Chen
    • Hui-Ling Wang
  • Stars
    • Xuan Huang
    • Shôta Sometani
    • Yuqi Zhang
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    3.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kaige Chen
    • Writers
      • Baku Yumemakura
      • Kaige Chen
      • Hui-Ling Wang
    • Stars
      • Xuan Huang
      • Shôta Sometani
      • Yuqi Zhang
    • 31User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 19 wins & 29 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:08
    Official Trailer

    Photos599

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    + 593
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    Top cast25

    Edit
    Xuan Huang
    Xuan Huang
    • Bai Letian
    Shôta Sometani
    Shôta Sometani
    • Kûkai
    Yuqi Zhang
    Yuqi Zhang
    • Chunqin
    Hao Qin
    Hao Qin
    • Chen yunqiao
    Hiroshi Abe
    Hiroshi Abe
    Libby Brien
    Libby Brien
    • Bai Ling
    • (English version)
    • (voice)
    • …
    Xu Chen
    Taishen Cheng
    Britt Falardeau
    Britt Falardeau
    • Lady Yang
    • (voice)
    • (as Brittany Falardeau)
    Brian Flaccus
    Brian Flaccus
    • Lishiao
    • (voice)
    Matt Fowler
    Matt Fowler
    • Demon Cat
    • (voice)
    Philip Hersh
    Philip Hersh
    • Chen Yunqiao
    • (English version)
    • (voice)
    Spencer Devlin Howard
    Spencer Devlin Howard
    • Bai Letian
    • (english version)
    • (voice)
    Mason Lee
    Mason Lee
    Haoran Liu
    Haoran Liu
    • Bai Long
    Peiqi Liu
    Peiqi Liu
    Keiko Matsuzaka
    • Bai Ling
    Hao Ou
    Hao Ou
    • Dan Long
    • Director
      • Kaige Chen
    • Writers
      • Baku Yumemakura
      • Kaige Chen
      • Hui-Ling Wang
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews31

    6.23.2K
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    Featured reviews

    6Behnam-A

    Great cinematography but poor story telling

    This movie presents one of the most adorable camera work you will ever see. Actings are also quite amazing. The cgi is acceptable too but could be better.

    However, the story is not rich enough or has not been told properly. You can clearly see that the director is trying hard to keep you on the edge of your seat but there is no enough material to do so.

    So, overall, it worth a shot but it's not the best.
    4lukasz-korczewski-942-147747

    Disappointment

    In fact I was reading recently a bit about Japanase buddhism and Kukai, the founder of Japanese Shingon Buddhism. So I felt excited when I learned there is a recent high budget film with him as the main protagonist as it seemed.

    My expectations turned out to be utterly misplaced. Neither he is important, nor his buddhism. If not for his robes, I could have overlooked he's a monk. It doesn't even play any important role in the plot he's a Japanese in China. Perhaps I'm missing some important hints, but to me all the film seemed to be composed of such disjonted pieces.

    And when stripped of them, the plot becomes just a decent historical ghost story overusing and overexposing the computer generated special effects at the expense of telling a coherent story and portraying a least a few somewhat believable characters. In the end even the "demon cat" itself failed to convince me with its overcomplicated and overexalted story, failing at the most crucial point of the whole movie in the simple task of telling a believable tragedy.
    6kluseba

    Less could have been so much more

    Legend of the Demon Cat is a colourful Sino-Japanese fantasy movie. It follows a former Chinese government official and poet who teams up with a Japanese monk to investigate strange events at court leading to injuries, illnesses and deaths. The dynamic youngster and the calm intellectual soon realize that all those events are related to a vengeful cat. They need to figure out the secret behind the mysterious animal in order to stop further catastrophes.

    This movie convinces on several levels. The costumes are colourful and eye-catching. The locations look diversified and elegant. The two different lead characters complete each other in a balanced way. The first half of the movie sets a mysterious tone but also has solid pace.

    Things get worse in the dragging and disjointed second half. The second hour mostly consists of lengthy flashbacks and the two intriguing main characters simply become listeners or spectators. The story also becomes more predictable and one would have hoped for a more spectacular outcome.

    In the end, this movie should please to fans of colourful fantasy movies and those interested in traditional Asian culture. The mysterious parts of the story vanish in the second half, the dramatic elements become predictable and the crime elements are replaced by complicated flashbacks. It's regrettable that a movie that showed much promise in its first half changes so drastically in its second half. The director and scriptwriter tried to experiment and innovate but a fluid pace and clearer structure would have been the better options in this case.
    TheBigSick

    A stunning masterpiece

    Chen Kaige shows a stunning artistic ambition in this Legend of Demon Cat. The story behind the mystery is simply beyond imagination, and the production design, costume, hair & makeup, music score and visual effects along the way are just impressive. This film is a spectacle about Chinese culture and history, and the way it presents them is unique and surprising. Besides the dazzling visuals, believable narratives and characters also help convince the audience that the unfolding fiction is real.
    9wongrie

    Not just having beautiful shots, this film tells a profound story

    Chen Kaige's best film since 21th century. As the biggest Chinese-Japanese co-production film ever, Yao Mao Zhuan is very different from the Hollywood cliches. I can feel the flow between each shot, just like traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. And the story structure is very interesting. It splits into two parts, these two parts are like mirrors, you can find same symbols, characters and plots in both sides. And all those things come together, make the magnificent Tang Dynasty comes alive. However, Chen Kaige is not satisfied in telling the greatness of Tang, but also the dark side, the politics and humanity.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Footage was screened in 2017 at the 30th Anniversary Special Opening of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

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    FAQ17

    • How long is Legend of the Demon Cat?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 22, 2017 (China)
    • Countries of origin
      • China
      • Japan
      • Hong Kong
    • Official sites
      • Official site (China)
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Legend of the Demon Cat
    • Filming locations
      • China
    • Production companies
      • 21 Century Shengkai Film
      • Emperor Motion Pictures
      • Kadokawa
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $25,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $97,051,623
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 9 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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