The Legend and Butterfly (2023)

A kill or be killed world and love

When a film begins with a traditional marriage where the bride wants to murder the groom on their wedding night you are left with the question, "Which one is the The Legend and which one is the Butterfly?" A political marriage of the uncouth Fool of Owari and the cunning Viper's Daughter made for an explosive and potent combination.

The story was a reimagining of Oda Nobunaga and Nohime's marriage as little was known about it. Historically, she was thought to be beautiful, intelligent, and skilled with a blade. In this version of the life story of the first "Great Unifier" of Japan, she was the genius and fire behind the man.

Nobunaga and Nohime clashed, sometimes violently, in early scenes in the film. The story takes place over thirty years, giving short amounts of time to major events in their lives, usually converging with battles for power outside of the marriage. Eventually, they come to a place outside of Nohime's role as a spy for her father and her infertility where they could move beyond tolerance and reluctant admiration to love. But true love rarely flows smoothly with pride, vengeance, and illness creating problems.

Kimura Takuya was able to portray Nobunaga's carefree and coarse youth with buddies outside of his caste. He also conveyed the weight of the battles and familiar lives lost, showing the transformation from the Fool of Owari into the Demon King capable of ordering women and children to be killed. Ayase Haruka transcended many of her drama roles as the tough as nails and brilliant strategist, Nohime. I was saddened as her role diminished once she fell in love and yet she still wrung as much out of Nohime's shadow as she could.

The gorgeous sets, elaborate costumes, music, and cinematography were all well done. It would be hard to fault unless there were some anachronisms involved. I am not well versed in the history of this era so I can only comment on the entertainment value of the film for an outsider. While I enjoyed the fast-track history lesson, the romance between Nobunaga and Nohime was difficult to comprehend as both held their emotions close to their vests. They only allowed their true feelings to show a couple of times. It could be hard to keep up with their emotional "growth" because of the constant short time jumps and quick changes in attitudes as Nobunaga strengthened his resolve to kill everyone who opposed him and she softened desiring a normal life with him more and more. As much as I wanted to care about the two, it was difficult to emotionally connect to them and their conflicts. Perhaps this would have worked better as a short drama so that their personality changes could have been delved into more and not be seen as so abrupt.

The Legend and Butterfly was entertaining even if it lacked the emotional depth I was looking for between the spouses. Regardless of historical accuracy, it was refreshing to see Nohime shown as a capable and intelligent woman, a wife Nobunaga could turn to for sound advice. Whether Nobunaga was a Fool or a Demon, neither, or a little of both is for people far more educated on the subject than me to comment on. As a film, a nearly 3 hour film covering 3 decades, focusing on the marital harmony and disharmony of one of Japan's most famous historical figures, The Legend and Butterfly succeeded largely on the likeability and skills of the performers. It was a kill or be killed world and for a time, marriage.




5/19/23

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