Miramax presents a film directed by Takeshi Kitano. Screenplay by Kitano, based on the story by Kan Shimozawa. In Japanese with English subtitles. With a running time of 116 minutes. Rated R for strong stylized bloody violence.
BY JACOB ZIEGLER, 411Movies
Arriving from the Far East, “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi” is a thrilling spectacle that is the kind of movie that Quentin Tarantino would have stolen from for his “Kill Bill” saga. The sword fights are fantastic, and the blood erupts like a geyser and flows like a river all the way through. The film runs a little bit long at 116 minutes, but this was also my fourth film of the day at the Waterfront Film Festival, so perhaps I was a little bit worn out. But I still thoroughly enjoyed the film, and would love to see it get a wide release; chances of that actually happening are slim.
The Zatoichi character has been the subject of 26 films and a long running TV series in Japan, so this would probably be most Americans first opportunity to see him (as it was mine). Zatoichi is a blind, aged masseur who wanders from town to town and gets into different adventures. The character is played by Beat Takeshi, which is an alter ego of Takeshi Kitano, the film’s director. Kitano obviously knows this character inside and out, and his treatment of him in front of and behind the camera reveals a genuine affection for the character that is lacking in many films today (“Anchorman” comes to mind).
The story places our blind masseur in a small town that is being overrun by gangsters who take everything the merchants make. The gangsters hire Gennosuke Hattori (Tadanobu Asano), a skilled swordsman, to be their bodyguard. While he may appear to be a heartless thug doing the bidding of ruthless gangsters, but we learn that he accepted this job as a way to make money to pay for the treatment of his ailing wife. Even so, it is clear that Zatoichi and Hattori will have a showdown before these credits roll.
Zatoichi won’t be alone in his quest to help the townspeople. He shacks up with a woman whose nephew Shinkichi (Gadarukanaru Taka) is a compulsive gambler, and even worse – he’s really bad at it. These two join forces with the Naruto sisters, who have a past with the evil gangsters, specifically Ginzo (Ittoku Kishibe). The story is told with the aid of many flashbacks, but the narrative never becomes confusing. It might have been paced a little better at a few times, but overall it runs very smoothly from one sequence to the next. When a film has as many complicated fight scenes as “The Blind Swordsman,” editing is key, and Kitano and Yoshinori Oota do a marvelous job. Cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima also does a great job not losing anybody in the battles and making everything look crisp and well put together.
This is a film that should really be seen more than once, because I was noticing some rhythmic patterns within the music and the sound effects, and I would really like to get a chance to explore that a little bit more. Another portion I would like to see again is the ending, which is a large dance number, which mixed Japanese heritage with African tribal dancing. It was great to watch, but I’m not sure how it fit into the film, and I would like to find an answer for myself.
The film works chiefly because of the brilliantly realized performance of Takeshi. He is utterly convincing no matter what course of action he is taking, and while some might find it difficult to believe that a man of his age would be a dominant sword fighter, Takeshi erases all doubt with a performance as credible as any I have ever seen. Despite seemingly superhuman feats, Zatoichi is a remarkably human character, and during a season when most of our heroes are glorified cartoon characters (such as Will Smith in “I, Robot” even though I liked that movie), “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi” is a true treat.
The 411: Awesome sword fights and a great main character make “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi” an easy film to recommend. Takeshi Kitano is a great talent, and I hope the small American audience that will get to see this film in theaters will recognize that.
