SF: Episode One

The way Samurai Fiction seamlessly blends classic chanbara qualities and contemporary cinema is truly remarkable. The result is an homage/parody that pays tribute to classic samurai cinema in an entertaining manner yet still has its own identity and its own unique feel. The most commendable of which is the strange, yet extremely effective humor. There is also the delicious visual style and the equally delectable and entertaining soundtrack.

This is a well presented movie with very interesting camera work and music.

In late 17th century, a samurai is wrongly accused to be stealing the clan's treasured sword, and has no choice but to kill the accuser on the spot and flee with the sword.

The son of a clan's high official pursues him with 3 friends, to the dismay of his father who sends ninjas to protect them, knowing their swordsmanship is far from being good.

This story uses the traditional Japanese principles of irremediable fate, where the characters are drawn towards actions because of the pressure of duty, sense of righteousness and pride. This contrasts with the American good-vs-bad approach to storytelling.

A lot of subtle Japanese humor with situational comedy, silliness and awkward personalities that you'll appreciate more if you learn Japanese stereotypical behaviors or understand some of their social culture.

The Japanese b/w movie "Samurai Fiction" is neither a typical martial arts movie nor a classical "old school" samurai drama like the ones of Akira Kurosawa. It's rather a collage of different impressions about the life of a Japanese samurai some hundred years ago who becomes involved in a bloody revenge story.

In the beginning the spectators have to get used to the strange mixture of b/w action scenes, narrations, dances, wild editing and a rock and dance music sound track. After a certain time, director Hiroyuki Nakano seems to remember what a story is and tells an interesting plot about a proud samurai struggling between revenge, fight, death and love.

During movie there are always comedy situations such as the witty dialogue between the samurai and his servant or a really beautiful striptease dance Japanese-style by stunning actress Mari Natsuki to an Asian canton pop version of Peggy Lee's hit "Sway".

If you're into Asian hardcore action movies you may be bored by this unusual movie, but if you're open-minded enough for experiments, "Samurai Fiction" is a good and entertaining example for modern Japanese underground cinema.

If only every samurai flick from Japan is this cool, then I'd be a very happy man. But then again here lies the greatness of Samurai Fiction. It does not conform to the common rules of period film making. In fact, director Hiroyuki Nakano creates a genuinely fresh look at that age-old jidaigeki genre, by doing everything in the opposite direction. His sense of humour is slick, his presentation stylish and by the end of the movie you can not avoid being moved by the heart of the story. It's actually cathartic for me, a fan of samurai films and Japanese drama/comedy.

Don't be misled by the trailer though, Nakano takes on the film is far from creating a parody of the likes of Kurosawa. SF is essentially a fresh comedy which happens to be set in the Edo period, because it works so well in conveying his message to the audience.

The casting is pitch-perfect, characterization is sublime, editing is effective and smartly executed, while the direction is top-notch and funky. You would also love the art direction, cinematography and best of all the soundtrack of the film. The music pieces themselves are melody narrator of the story, as they carry you throughout the journey and mark transitions of the scenes so effectively.

I must say Samurai Fiction will be half as good without the music, so a special praise should go the the talented Tomoyasu Hotei, who himself turned in such a cool performance as the ronin Kazamatsuri. He's probably the most suave renegade on film after the great Toshiro Mifune.

The film directly opens with a promise of a sequel by directly entitling the movie Episode One: Samurai Fiction. Then we jump backward all the way to the year 1696, the Edo Period. The narrator then states that the character you see on the screen was the narrator himself, 300 years ago. The film then closes with the same narrator saying that it would take him a long time to learn the lesson of love. Enter the sequel: Episode 2002: Stereo Future. Can't wait to watch it!!!

"Samurai Fiction": Definitely worth watching - I thought it was a little slow at first (and a little sparse and inconsistent with the humour), but it definitely got better at the end. It won't make you more of a Hotei Tomoyasu fan (boy, he looks weird - almost like a manga character... like "Jei" in Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo"), and the swordplay won't exactly blow you away, but the adaptation of the black & white (with selective colour, a la "Rumblefish") genre is excellent. Being a Kurosawa fan, I especially liked the general "feel" of the cinematography and the video transfer, as it was digitally modified to add graininess and capture that circa-1950's TOHO ambiance. Critical attention was paid to camera angles, set design, character development and mannerisms, all playing true to the Kurosawa-esque model and at the same time sparing no opportunity for the sight gag and comedic element. Yes, for the Hirosue Ryoko fans-in-denial, the female lead (Ogawa Tamaki) bears a somewhat close resemblance (slightly less boyish), but that's besides the point. The movie felt like it was part of an Ulfuls music video at times (I think it was "Guts Daze"), which was exactly what made it so good. Highly recommended.