Hidari
2023 · 6m · Japan
Directed by Masashi Kawamura, Iku Ogawa
A legendary one-armed woodcarver, Jingoro Hidari, uses his handcrafted prosthetic arm—fitted with interchangeable weapons including a chainsaw—to exact revenge on the corrupt magistrate who wronged him. The film is a kinetic stop-motion action piece inspired by Japanese Edo-era folklore.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Carved wooden samurai puppets, sawdust for blood, chainsaw prosthetic arm — six minutes of stop-motion vengeance that already has 5M views and deserves them. This is the platonic ideal of a pilot.
Carved wooden puppets bleeding sawdust — Kawamura and Ogawa locate a stop-motion grammar where the medium is the meaning, in the lineage of Kihachiro Kawamoto. Five million views on a six-minute pilot suggests something genuinely electric.
5 million views on the 6-minute pilot, carved wooden puppets with sawdust replacing blood — that material-thematic mirroring (woodcarver protagonist, wooden world) is craft thinking at the highest level. The interchangeable chainsaw prosthetic alone justifies the entire piece.
Reviews
Brought to life with jaw-dropping craft — some of the most exciting stop-motion we've seen in a while. The kinetic camera movements and constant changes of pace are truly exhilarating.
Instantly has the feel of a future cult classic. The characters and craft will appeal to both fans of martial arts films and animation aficionados alike.
Festivals
- New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival 2023, Winner
- New York Asian Film Festival 2023, Winner
- Palm Springs Animation Festival 2023, Winner
- Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival 2023, Winner
- DOC LA 2023, Storytella Award
- JPPA Awards 2024, Grand Prix
- Webby Awards 2024, Winner