Movie Review: The Twilight Samurai
The twilight samurai was produced in 2002 by Yoji Yama. The setting of the film is sometime before Meiji Restoration. The film follows the life of a poor samurai Seibei Iguchi, working as an accountant. Despite his poverty, he is able to live a happy and content life with his two young daughters and aging mother. However, through the thing do not go his way, and life turns unbearable for him and his family. The film has won many Academy Awards including the Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screen Play, and Best Actress. This film produced a very interesting film that would receive many reviews from critics.
The twilight samurai is an interesting film, as it is one of those rare pieces where the elements come together into a whole that is far better than individual parts. The film based on the novels of Shuhei Fujisawa, the screenplay of Yamada’s soars. The film has adequate economy to keep the story moving at a steady clip and enough character to enable the view care about the miseries of samurai, Seibei Iguchi, and his family.
Drawing from other samurai features, the moview is set in a period just before the Meiji restoration, a period characterized by the realization of the samurai that men no longer needed to fight one another using swords. Iguchi is left in a more unfortunate status following the death of his wife, which left him with his two daughters and a senile mother to look after on his small earning. A fascinating feature of the film is how his role changed to the samurai version of Mr. Mom. The opportunity to care for his daughters and senile mother made Iguchi find a meaning in his life as a retainer. Throughout the film, he dreams of his release so that he might spend his remaining days tending to his farms and catering for the need of his family. He also longs to meet his childhood friend whom he had admired, but a variety of circumstances, including his low self-esteem, hindered his ability to achieve this dream.
Many films produced by Yoji Yamada focused on hapless character Toro-San, but this film venture into feudal Japan by focusing on the human side of living rather that the warfare and fighting. This unique approach creates a strong story about Japanese life that mixes romance, politics, and class values together. The movie features amazing shots with landscapes and sets on a par with Kurosawa’s best work, but Yamada also acknowledges the importance of creating fully developed characters, developing strong relationship with them. Iguchi becomes the perfect sounding board for during the period just like flawed protagonists used by Kurosawa. The samurai value for pride and honor greatly impacts the existence of Seibei, because it is difficult to balance his appearance while fumbling with his family and housework with his duties as a clerk. This becomes evident when some powerful lords scorn his appearance and his total lack of personal hygiene.
The production elements in the film meet all standards. The cinematography of the film is amazing without being obtrusively so. The daughter of Iguchi is supposed to be the speaker acting as an old woman, but telling the story from her own perspective could have meant that she could not have known some parts of the movie. The movie does not give any of her footage as an old woman until the end of the movie and the explanation she provides in that scene does not help the story to succeed. It is like having a single story end instead of two and is lopsided as well as unnecessary. An experienced writer and filmmaker like Yamada could have found a solution to such issues. However, this does not interfere with the storyline, but it occasionally distracts the viewer.
After watching a genre that has brought into perspective some of the most memorable moments in Japanese film, Yojo Yamada employs a unique approach to tell the great story of pride and honor. The perfection and beauty of Sanada’s performance makes the movie one of the best exports from Japanese in the recent history. It is by no surprise that the movie received the Japanese Academy Awards, but it should have also won its American foreign counterpart, since this piece is the most amazing cinematic piece from Japan. Set amidst a culture on the verge of extinction resulting from modern warfare and industrialization, there are very few films to match this wonderful piece. In concluding remarks, the acting and story are fantastic, which make The twilight samurai one of the film to find and watch in case one has not. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who is considering learning something from the Japanese culture as well as deviate from the common perception of Japanese films as filled with swords and bloody fights.
