Barbara

Barbara is based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka (of Astro Boy fame) and I have to imagine that something was lost in translation from comic to film, because the movie never registers beyond the level of a mild diversion. It’s about a famous author who falls in love with a free-spirited young woman, and also there’s supernatural stuff happening for some reason? For a movie involving otherworldly beings, witchcraft, and an Eyes Wide Shut-esque sex cult (among other weirdness), it’s surprisingly dull; it feeels like it either needs to lean into the romance angle or the supernatural weirdness angle, because as it is both sides are muddled and inconsequential. It frequently brings up plot threads only to completely forget about them, and the two main characters are thoroughly dull. In particular, Gorô Inagaki as the lovelorn author makes for a completely ineffectual protagonist. Interesting stuff happens around him, but he’s surprisingly flat. As for Barbara, she’s a stock Manic Pixie Dream Girl; there’s nothing there.

** out of ****