Kai Doh Maru
A brief (43 minute) drama set in 894 A.D.,Kai Doh Maruis an eerie  mixture of history and supernatural fantasy. After her uncle usurped the family  domain, Princess Kintoki was raised as a boy-warrior under the tutelage of the  elegant Lord Raiko and the other stalwart Knights of Kyo. Pitted against the  Knights is the Oheyama gang, led by the icy Princess Ohni and her crazed  assassin Ibaragi. Ohni retains her childhood love for Kintoki, apparently unaware  of her gender. American audiences unfamiliar with the intrigues of the Heian  Court and the rise of the Fujiwara clan will find the story puzzling, just as  many Japanese viewers would be lost at a stylized production ofThe  Crucible.Kai Doh Maruis a strikingly handsome film that uses computer  graphics to suggest the look of antique Japanese art filmed through gauze.  (Unrated: suitable for ages 15 and older: considerable violence)--Charles  Solomon