This week my column travels back to late 19th century Japan with two contemporary samurai movies. However, the blade of each could use some sharpening.
?The Hidden Blade? (2004)
3 stars out of 5
One would hardly guess that this Yoji Yamada film is from 2004. In fact, due to the subdued nature of most aspects of the film, it feels like a samurai movie from the 1950s, but with color. This, along with the pacing and some directorial decisions detract from the success of ?The Hidden Blade.?
The slow-paced story takes place in a small ?backwater village? in Japan toward the end of the Tokugawa period. The film mainly follows Katagiri, a middle-aged samurai of this town, as he struggles with the Westernization of the town (and Japan as a whole); his feelings toward his former servant girl, Kie; and political unrest that has implicated his friend in treason. While this may sound like a solid, entertaining film, do not be swindled.
It?s actually incredibly sluggish and often mundane, which makes ?The Hidden Blade? nearly unwatchable for the first 60 to 80 minutes. I almost never stop watching mid-movie, but had I the option, I would have given up on this one. The first half is just that dull. And the ennui isn?t even alleviated with beautiful, artsy cinematography or sets; it?s just incredibly ?real? in the sad sense that reality is dull and stale.
Luckily for the sake of the film and its renowned director, it finds scraps of redemptions in the latter half, when things actually start happening. It?s a quiet surprise when the sleepy plot finally awakens with some conflict; Katagiri is forced to face his secret love for Kie and is also ordered to kill his old friend Hazama, who escaped from confinement for plotting against the emperor. However, much more interesting than the development of the story is how it carries the themes so well, largely the themes of reluctance to an undesirable order and preservation of a dying honor, which both resonate much more broadly in the historical context of Japan?s modernization.
While an uneventful, plain-looking movie is not inherently bad, ?The Hidden Blade? lacks any emotional charge that would fill the void. Because of this, Yoji?s film is only a weak success. Strong themes are worth nothing if the viewer gives up before ever getting to them. Yet, I admit the end is worth the wait, if only for samurai flick lovers and the especially patient.
?Taboo? (1999)
3 stars out of 5
Oddly enough, ?Taboo? suffers from the exact opposite pitfalls of ?The Hidden Blade.? Adapted from two modern novellas, the story is also set in late 19th century Japan, but focuses on the training school of an elite samurai police force rather than a backwards village. However, the focus of ?Taboo? strays from typical samurai machismo slightly, as it specifically centers on homosexuality in premodernized Japan. More accurately, rather than sexual orientation, it?s about the shudo tradition of samurai taking younger male lovers, in a way similar to ancient Greek practices. However, I have yet to take a Japanese history class, so my knowledge is lacking.
?Taboo? is a very personable film, lending much attention to the various characters of the training school, especially Sozaburo Kano, the strikingly beautiful and feminine new recruit. His mystical allure draws many suitors, so naturally jealousy and conflict follow. But Kano remains mysteriously reticent and reserved despite the propositions and rumors, as if he wants nothing to do with any of it. While this contained homosexuality was not uncommon or necessarily frowned upon, the jealousy leads to a murder and further plotting, so the school senseis have to resolve the matter through various schemes.
Like Kano, the art direction is rather beautiful without ever becoming overbearingly so. The misty twilight sets evoke the same haunting beauty and mystery that shrouds the main character, and with it envelops the whole film. The acting is superb, the fight scenes are well-choreographed and the script is believable. However, the smokescreen of mystery becomes a problem when the film gets more convoluted, and much of the explanation is omitted. While speculation of the viewer is a great thing, ?Taboo? leaves too many questions unanswered and the themes rather vague.
?Taboo? is a soundly entertaining, well-stylized samurai flick with a twist, but it ultimately feels a little empty, like a stage drama lost in its tragedy. It?s definitely rewatchable, but I doubt one would derive much more understanding from this pretty enigma the second time around ? I?d try the novellas or the television series instead.
For less disappointing samurai movies, try the Kurosawa films like ?Seven Samurai,? or for something more contemporary, ?Zataoichi? isn?t half-bad, and ?The Twilight Samurai? is well-acclaimed.
Want to correct me on something related to Japanese history or recommend samurai movies? E-mail me at [email protected].
