![]() In the film, Zatoichi (Beat Takeshi) stumbles into a small village and quickly becomes a hero for the lowly townsfolk and thorn in the side for the ruthless gangs who have taken over the settlement. One of the best depictions of the iconic figure is The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, a 2003 revival written and directed by Takeshi Kitano. The character Zatoichi, a blind swordsman who has trained his other senses to make up for his lack of vision, is one of the most prominent figures in Japanese cinema, television, and literature, having popped up countless times over the years. ![]() I can't recommend this film more than enough, it's defienitely one of Miike's best in years, even if you've never seen one of his film's beforehand.(Image credit: Shochiku) The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003) The film is in itself a tales of atonement and revenge taking it's cues from the likes of 'Unforgiven', 'Leon: The Professional' and this year's 'Logan' all added to the classic Japanese Edo period, it's an electric film from start to finish full of all out sword fights, blood splashes and the deeper meaning of what it means to face the consequences of one's actions as well as living for a greater meaning than just oneself. 'Blade of the Immortal' an adaptation of Hiroaki Samura's manga series is possibly a perfect fit for Miike, combing the best of his Jidai-geki tribute material and plenty of chanbara sword slashing, this film sets Miike right where he belongs. Show Less Show MoreĬatching a Takashi Miike film at the Melbourne International Film Festival can be a real treat, even when you've found out the Cult Japanese Filmmaker has actually made a 'Great Film'. The sound mixing wasn't perfect, but the straight forward story offers you everything you need to get through Blade of the Immortal with a smile on your face. Miike develops and defines the characters we see on screen and expertly shoots the action with a still camera from tight angles. With a run time of 140 minutes, it can get quite taxing to watch fight after fight. However, I retreat back to my comment about the movie's uniqueness. The added bonus comes from the relationship the two main characters build. It's as if each character we meet and dispose of leads to a bigger and badder villain. With the added relationship to the comic/anime, Blade of the Immortal succeeds both when dialogue slows down the action and when swords cling and clang to pick up the pace. The action is fierce and full of sword play from start to finish. It's a great combo and offered a bit more levity to the proceedings than I thought there would be in a movie about hacking and slashing its way from beginning to end. Kimura's portrayal of Manji is one of reluctance and dark humor. Her fervor in the film and committed performance really sells the silliness of it all. He meets little Rin played by Hana Sugisaki. Once we jump into the present nearly 50 years later, the story for him becomes a 'same crap, different day' kind of routine. A beautiful black and white segment starts the film off with as much backstory as you need in a film like this. He hires himself to protect a child, but when things don't go as planned, he suffers what someone of his culture deems to be a fate worse than dying dishonorably: immortality and not being able to die at all. Even if it won't turn any heads for originality, the story is laid out for all to see. ![]() ![]() Once again, Miike picks up the samurai sword to deliver a spastic, brutal, yet surprisingly deeply structured character story. I reviewed that years ago and gave it a glowing (4 1/2 stars). The most notable of the bunch is '13 Assassins'. It is quite the feat for a man who has really only released a handful internationally. Blade of the Immortal caps director Takashi Miike's directing career at 100 films over his decade-long career. ![]()
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