Sun 12 Dec 2004
A tale of humanity and heroism among the samurai elite
FILM REVIEW
ALLAN HUNTER
When The Last Sword Is Drawn (15)
Director: Yojiro Takita
Starring: Kiichi Nakai
Running time: 138 minutes
CROUCHING Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero are among the films that
have broken down the resistance of British audiences to foreign-
language fare. They may also have contributed to an unrealistic view
of what Asian cinema has to offer.
All pristine, perfectly composed images and eye-catching
pyrotechnics, they suggest every martial arts film from the Far East
sets out to dazzle. But unlike those lavish Chinese cinematic
productions, the Japanese film When The Last Sword Is Drawn is much
more traditional and has the satisfying sweep and sprawl of a good
old-fashioned novel - which is hardly surprising given its roots in
a bestseller by prizewinning author Jiro Asada.
Structured around a series of flashbacks and blending the complex
social history of 19th century Japan with more universal concerns of
family, honour and class struggle, it often feels like a Japanese
equivalent of Dr Zhivago or Gone With The Wind, displaying much in
common with the cinema of Kurosawa and Oshima.
The tale begins during the winter of 1899. An elderly man called
Hajime Saito (Koichi Sato) arrives at a clinic seeking help for his
sick grandson. A doctor offers assistance and Saito spots a photo of
Kanichiro Yoshimura (Kiichi Nakai), a man he once despised and
wanted to kill. The doctor (Takehiro Murata) also knew the man and
his son and their conflicting memories of his true nature provide
the basis for the story.
In the 1860s, Saito and Yoshimura were both members of the
celebrated Shinsengumi, an elite force of samurai dedicated to the
defence of Kyoto. Saito considered himself to possess all the
virtues of a samurai and thought Yoshimura little more than a
country bumpkin whose mere presence was an insult to his dignity.
Yoshimura, however, was easily the best swordsman of his generation
and was also dedicated to his family. He considered indignity a
small price to pay if he could continue to provide for them. Thus,
he accepted the jobs others shunned, demanded extra payment for acts
of bravery and never flaunted his superiority. "What kind of samurai
is that?" demanded one colleague.
The doctor recalls an entirely different man; a devoted father and
husband who did whatever was necessary to provide for his family and
keep them alive. Gradually, as their memories converge, it becomes
clear just what an extraordinary figure Yoshimura really was.
The personal story at the core of When The Last Sword Is Drawn is
played out against the shifting allegiances and social changes in
the Japanese history of the period. Gunfire begins to make the sword
a weapon of the past. Divisions within the Shinsengumi sow the seeds
of its eventual destruction. There is an elegiac, end-of-era quality
that carries echoes of such influential American westerns as The
Wild Bunch and The Shootist.
Director Yojiro Takita takes an understated approach: the film wears
its beauty without ostentation. Confrontations are swift, brutal and
bloody without becoming stylised. The flashbacks occasionally
threaten to break the spell of the narrative, but what ultimately
shines through is the humanity of the story as memories and
incidents transform our understanding of an individual, revealing
that heroism can take many forms and that even the bitterest rivals
can eventually achieve mutual respect.
On selected release from Friday
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