The Twilight Samurai | Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa

The Twilight Samurai | Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa | Near perfect

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The Twilight Samurai

	The Twilight Samurai Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa FIRST RUN FEATURES, 2004 average customer review:based on 50 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Twilight Samurai

This is a very fine example of an actual lifestyle of a Japanese Samurai. Played brillantly by Hiroyuki Sanada, a long time actor and martial artist under Sonny Chiba and the series Kage no Gundan, and his latest role opposite Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, Hiroyuki-san did an outstanding and emotionally touching skill of bringing out a truthful rendition of life in late Samurai periods. There isn't a lot of sword slashing in this movie, it wasn't neccessary. But it does show what is more believable. Not everything was as rich and clean as in the other movies of an earlier time. Highly rated, and very much enjoyed.

David Schleifer: Author of "Battlecruiser: Prototype."

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Near perfect

Often when Japanese films are praised as 'slow,' I find it covers a multitude of sins from lack of discipline in the editing room (see After Life), to apparent lack of an editing room altogether (see Eureka). However, in the case of Twilight Samurai, we have a perfectly-paced film exploring the the plight of a humanist samurai in the late Edo period. Sanada, a favourite of mine ever since his portrayal of the flawed high-school teacher in the TV drama 'Koko Kyoshi,' gives a career-best performance as the impoverished retainer. One minute he has you laughing as he explains his contentment at being a single father to his uncomprehending uncle, the next you are choking back tears in the marriage proposal scene. The lives of the characters are compelling enough, but there is also the allegorical element of Japan itself about to undergo change from an isolated, warrior nation, to an international leader advocating pacifism. This is a film that works on every level and will not disappoint.

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Samurai Heart

Twilight Samurai was really an experiment for me. I had only recently gotten into foreign films, and I wanted to try something a little off the mainstream. So when I heard of this movie, and read the reviews, I figured this would be my first trip into those waters. What I got was definitely what I didn't expect, but I wasn't disappointed by this in any way. Where I expected action, I got some heart-felt drama well-acted by the actors and actresses of the movie, and where there was action, it was well done and very traditional (in the samurai sense). Plus, the setting of the movie made it feel as though I was taking a step back into the Japan long-ago killed by the spread of Western Civilization.

Twilight Samurai takes place in the years just before the Meiji Restoration, when the Japanese were moving beyond the samurai to the more traditional styles of "worldly" living. In this era of Japanese history, the samurai are still prevalent, but very organized and more ceremonial than anything else. They carry swords, but these items at merely ornamental.

Reflecting in many ways the current times of the movie, the story follows Seibei Iguchi, a.k.a. "Twilight" as he attempts to raise two daughters and care for a mother deep in dementia. He wears the mantle of samurai, but takes far more pride in seeing his daughters grow than in having that title. Yet in the times, unrest is common. Ronin are everywhere, and new ronin are created daily by clan conflicts. Though Seibei attempts to avoid all of these things, he's pulled deep into a conflict between his closest friend and a retainer and fights in his friends place. Fellow samurai take note of this conflict, and at Seibei's skill. Thus he becomes a "warrior" in their eyes. That's when an assignation to kill a renegade samurai comes Seibei's way. Though he chooses not to fight, he's also a samurai and must obey all orders given, and therefore he goes to fight the man, leaving behind his daughters, and his oldest childhood friend who he realizes that he loves, Miss Tomoe.

Though the image of Seibei isn't traditional in samurai films (the weak-spirited father), it's somewhat refreshing, especially when you consider all of what's happening around this man, what with all the tradition and pompous samurai ways. He does not look at his daughters as girls to be married away, but as equals in life, and wants everything for them and nothing for himself.

For anyone who enjoys foreign films, Twilight Samurai is for you. It has a few similarities to Seven Samurai, but beyond that little in this movie compares to any other samurai movie I've seen (few, though I must admit). The historical scope and accuracy of the film also makes it a worthwhile watch for any interested in world history or just Japanese history. Advance warning: bring reading glasses, because the movie doesn't have an English track.

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A Masterpiece!

Where to begin! I had never heard of Yoji Yamada before watching this film and have yet to see any of his other movies (there's alot of them and they're not easy to find!) but I can easily say the guy is a master. Like Kurasawa or Kubrick or Scorsese, Yamada seems to be in complete control of what he's doing. The shot compositions are rock solid and the staging of the scenes (including ones with many actors in small spaces) is masterful. This is a very well made movie.

The story focuses on Iguchi, a poor samurai left alone with his two daughters and sick mother after the death of his wife. Japan is in turmoil pre-Meiji restoration with famine on the rise, and the use of guns in battle, the samurai way of life is coming to an end. Ultimately the theme here is status. Iguchi's status as a samurai comes second to his honor and responsibility as a father and as a decent man. He has an inner sense of what's right that differs from that of his fellow samurai. Although many in his clan talk behind his back I think they ultimately respect and even fear him, despite his lower rank. Eventually his friend's sister, the beautiful Tomoe (a woman with a similiar view of inner honor) comes into the picture and complicates things for Iguchi. In the end political turmoil leads to Iguchi having a showdown with the friend of an earlier foe in an awesome ending fight sequence, which is very well staged.

This movie has a texture that has to been seen to be understood, including a very nice desaturated pallete, and acting with real emotional depth. The symbolism is subtle and any emotions expressed throughout the film come off as heartfelt, not meladramatic or corny. I like and identify with Iguchi more than any Kurosawa character. I recommend this movie for anyone interested in good filmmaking, not just samurai fanatics or fans of japanese cinema.

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Magnificent Film, Poor Transfer

This is a magnificent movie and a truly moving tale of a poor Samurai who yearns to live the life of a farmer, raise his two little girls and live in peace. An accomplished swordsman, however, events will conspire to shatter his vision of domestic bliss. Called upon by the reigning warlord to avenge a blood feud, Seibei Iguchi will find himself once again forced to draw his sword in anger. (Yes, that's the same plot as 1000 other Samurai and Cowboy flicks, but the story-telling really sets this one apart).

That said, though the story is 1st rate, the poor video transfer of the U.S. DVD release mars the experience. It is not even a 16:9 Anamorphic transfer, but merely a 4:3 letterbox screening. Show this film on a screen bigger than 13" and you'll weep. For this reason I can only give it 3 stars.

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