Kaoru is searching for her brother Tuyoshi, and her only clue is a letter from Izumi, her childhood friend. She follows the trail to a small Japanese village called Kozukata. The villagers are not particularly helpful toward Kaoru and seem completely obsessed with scarecrows. Eventually, she finds Izumi’s parents, but they are unable to help her either with speaking to Izumi or in the search for her brother. The situation becomes increasingly mysterious, and there are only a few days left until the scarecrow festival.
Japanese scarecrows are called Kakashi and are something entirely different from what we are used to in the West. Kakashi have a long history, but the most important thing to note is that Kakashi are believed to have contact with the gods. Whether this legend is genuine or created specifically for the film, I do not know. However, I suspect it is based on a Japanese myth.
As with so many other newer Japanese films, this one is absolutely beautiful to watch. Rich in colour, with exciting camera angles and a very atmospheric mood. But despite all that, something goes wrong. The film becomes far too empty in terms of plot, and people turning into straw figures ends up feeling rather silly, especially since the film maintains such a deadly serious tone. There are quite a few scenes that genuinely work, and when they do, the film is exactly what it should be. But unfortunately, those moments are few and far between.
The effects are generally top-notch, except for one very disappointing scene where people burn — it looks completely unconvincing. All in all, this is a film that could have worked but ends up being too slow. The story simply does not hold up, even though it remains beautiful to look at.
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