Old samurai don't just fade away
By J.C. Lockwood
Friday, September 10, 2004
Anyone expecting a Kurosawa-like epic, a thrilling action film
replete with beautifully choreographed - and senselessly bloody -
sword fights are in for a big disappointment with "The Twilight
Samurai," the new film by Japanese director Yoji Yamada. There are
only two short fight sequences in the film - both beautifully
photographed, but a minor part of the story, which looks at the
quietly heroic life of a minor samurai.
The film is set in the 19th century, as the feudal Edo period
was giving way to Meiji Restoration. (A knowledge of Japanese
history is not required for this film.) The days of the samurai are
slipping away. Duels are forbidden, prowess with the sword doesn't
command the respect it once did.
Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada), a minor clerk for the clan,
might have had samurai fire in his belly at one point. He trained
with a samurai master and taught at his school, but he has been
beaten down by life: caring for his wife during drawn-out death from
tuberculosis, while dealing with a live-in mother in the grips of
with what appears to be Alzheimer's - and caring for his two
daughters.
Yet he is not unhappy with the strangely rewarding wreckage of
his life. He finds it fulfilling and wishes he could live a peaceful
life as a peasant instead of a poor one as a samurai. The boys at
the office - a warehouse controlled by the clan, mock Iguchi,
calling him "Twilight Samurai," because he would rather go home to
his family than out whoring around with them at the end of the day.
The divorce and return of Tomoe (Ria Miyazawa), a childhood
friend, leads to a confrontation with her violent ex, a high-ranking
samurai mucky-muck who Iguchi beats senseless - using just a stick.
This pumps up Iguchi's profile within the organization, although not
his sense of himself - and his chances to find happiness with Tomoe.
Based on the best-selling novel by Shuhei Fujisawa and directed
by Yamada, the Japanese director best known for his 48-episode "Tora-
san" series, "Twilight Samurai" is a seemingly ordinary story of
surprising depth and poignancy - and a film that seems, at heart, at
least, as much "Unforgiven" as "Crouching Tiger." It plays through
Sept. 16 at The Screening Room, 82 State St., Newburyport. For film
times, call 978-462-3456.
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