The third film in the Keita Amemiya Collection just may be his most accomplished film, at least of this trio. It shows the film maker with a clearly bigger budget, although still distinctly in the low-budget realm, and taking a step away from his stock in trade of robot based films. Moon Over Tao continues his trend of wringing all he can out of the budget and onto the screen with a visually inventive film. While it may not be a great film, and one that takes a certain type of movie lover to get behind, you have to respect him for what he does with so little.
The film begins with a 15th century Japanese lord, Tadaoki, showing a special sword to one of his up and coming swordsman named Hayate. Meanwhile, just outside the gate is a man in a wide brimmed hat (I am unsure of what he is called) asking to see Tadaoki. The gatekeeper is unwilling to let him pass. The stranger then takes out a pad, writes something on it and sticks the paper to the gatekeeper's forehead. Within moments, the stranger is in the main chamber with Tadaoki. The slip is removed and the gatekeeper, unsure of what just happened, runs off frightened.
This is an element of the film that I really liked, and also one that many unfamiliar with the culture will not understand. Not to put myself up too high, as I do not always understand it, but I know where they come from. The stranger, revealed to be a former military advisor is Suikyou, a man who has taken up a more spiritual life as a Taoist. They have the knowledge of magical spells that are cast by writing them and applying them to where you want them to work. For another film that makes use of these spells, see the Mr. Vampire series.
In any case, we learn that the sword being shown earlier is made of some sort of special metal, not Earth-bound steel, but something else. Tadaoki wants more of these weapons to use in their future battles. So, Suikyou and Hayate set off to find the source of the metal and bargain for more weapons. This is where the story takes a turn.
The metal is not from this planet and its true nature could prove to be deadly, destructive to the entire planet. This is revealed by the arrival of a trio of alien women, dropped to the surface like scuba divers. They fight among themselves and then disappear into the darkness.
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