The Mad Fox (Koi Ya Koi Nasuna Koi) (1962)

dir. Tomu Uchida
writ. Yoshikata Yoda
feat. Hashizo Okawa, Michiko Saga

Wow! What a beauty! I hadn't experienced a film that felt like a live action version of a Miyazaki film before The Mad Fox. It tells the story of a Japanese folktale where two disciples of a yin-yang master (?) are at odds after the master's sudden murder on the road. Already a curse has befallen the land and only the master knows more about it, having taken a look at the precious Golden Crow scroll shortly before his death. The ensuing argument over who should take the master's place leads to the disappearance of the scroll followed by the fatal beating of his adopted daughter while the good disciple, Yasuna, in love with that daughter, watches helplessly.

Yasuna manages to escape with the scroll, the house burning to the ground in the struggle with his counterpart. Having seen his dead love in a horrifying position, staked to the ground where she'd been beaten, Yasuna loses his mind as illustrated in a ravishing Kabuki segment where he dances amidst yellow flowers, covering himself in his lost love's kimono as a circular stage spins to give him greater room to move.

As Yasuna slips out of his reverie, he sees who he believes to be his love but
who is actually her twin sister (thankfully set up in the prologue). Still mad, he professes his love repeatedly though often mixing up the names. The twin doesn't seem to mind, still finding Yasuna to be a good prospect. Meanwhile, the lords of the land still seek out Yasuna while also hunting for a white fox. The hunters shoot an arrow through an old woman that Yasuna saves, returning her to her home. Well, it turns out that the woman was indeed an old fox. Out of gratitude, the foxes come to Yasuna's rescue when he is set upon by the hunters after recognizing him.

Injured in the scrabble, the foxes spirit Yasuna away to safety and agree that the young granddaughter will take the form of Yasuna's new love (or old love, really all the same gal anyhow) to see to his health. She must avoid any funny business though or she'll never have a home again. Well, guess what, the funny business comes quickly and we flash ahead to the foxy lady and Yasuna in their home in the woods and a newborn baby boy. She has duped him into believing it unsafe to see his supposed in-laws, but suddenly they arrive, setting up for a grand finale that includes a flying baby, a flying stuffed fox, a stunning show of a mouth brushing calligraphy on a rice paper screen and an explosion.

I don't know what else to say. It must be seen to be believed. Like Miyazaki, there is a wondrous flow to the story that defies American conventions for tight storytelling. The Kabuki scene drags a little long, but then the love of the fox comes quickly. It's magical and fitting of a director whose name translates to "spit out dreams."