13 Assassins

The Meiji restoration is at hand but the principals in the story are of course not aware of the unfolding of the future. All they see is Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki), the shogun’s half brother threatening to cause large scale internal strife with his psychotic ways. Shimada Shinzaemon (Kôji Yakusho), samurai par excellence is summoned from his quiet retirement and tasked to unofficially pluck this thorn from the nation’s side. Soon twelve men are picked and the blood bath is unleashed spectacularly on the audience. Takashi Miike brings back the spaghetti samurai “western” in a style long forgotten, interspersed with his unique brand of cruelty and sudden humor. Let the Total Massacre never end…

Rating: * * * +

Hana

Soza (Junichi Okada) embeds himself in the poor quarters of Edo, seeking vengeance for the death of his father. But life in the row houses slowly starts to grow on him especially when he starts to tutor the neighborhood kids. Hirokazu Koreeda's film is an anti-thesis to most movies depicting the jidaigeki era. The protagonist is better at wielding a pen rather than a sword and is heavily conflicted about his duty. The other characters in the film are quirky and fit seamlessly in the scenes of comic realism. Koreeda's masterstroke is in juxtaposing the story of the  47 ronin by having a couple of them hiding out in the row houses. Putting Tadanobu Asano in a small but important role just adds to the class of the movie. And to really sweeten the deal there is Rie Miyazawa... enough said!

Rating: * * *

Zatoichi

In Takeshi Kitano's version of Zatoichi, the blind masseur wanders into a remote town that is being held hostage by the yakuza. Like always Ichi decides to lend a helping hand or I should say, helping sword. Though following the regular plotlines of an Ichi flick, Kitano cleverly massages other characters and storylines into it plus his own brand of humor. What you finally have is a very slick flick with blindingly fast sword fights and a cunning background score.

For those who are curious as to why Kitano would make a Zatoichi flick, here is a good article that explains it.

Rating: * * * +

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

A plot by the scheming and treachorous Yagyu clan, leaves Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama)and his three year old son as outlaws to Shogunate. Once the Kogi Kaishakunin and the feared executioner of the Shogun, he now wanders the Japanese countryside as an assasin for hire, swearing eternal vengence on the Yagyu.

Based on the manga, Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, the film is the first in a series of six. Inspite of the intense sword fights with splayed limbs and splurting blood, the film has a calmness to it. Plus it gives the viewer a excellent picture of the life, times and poltical layout of Japan during the Shogunate era. So watch the film or pick up the manga, if you dare venture down meifumadō...

Rating: * * * +

Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi

The final Zatoichi film from Shintarô Katsu again shows the blind masseur wandering around Japan. As usual it contains blindingly fast sword fights, beautiful women and lots of blood. Each frame of the film is well constructed and the atmosphere is brilliant. But Katsu makes an attempt at introducing an intricate plot unlike other Zatoichi flicks and in there lies the undoing of the movie.

Rating: * +

Sword of the Beast

A film by highly underrated director Hideo Gosha, a master of the Jidaigeki genre, shows a young samurai on the run from his clan. Accused of killing the clan counselor, he is chased by a posse led by the counselor's daughter and fiance. A film that touches upon the plight of lowly samurai trying rise up in ranks admist deadly clan politics.

Rating: * *