Ansatsu

This rarely-seen Japanese film centres around a mysterious wandering ronin Hachiro Kiyokawa (Tetsuro Tanba) as he juggles between the Shogunate and the Emperor sympathisers in 19th-century Japan. As the pre-credits text informs us (in detail), four American warships arrived in 1853, upsetting the political balance in Japan, as the country divides into the Liberal Shogunate, and the Imperialists who want all foreign influence banished. Kiyokawa's story is told by various supporting players in flashback and the film jumps around a detailed timeline. We never know or fully understand Kiyokawa's intentions and political preference as he proves unpredictable and at time, extremely ruthless.

The film is more of a political thriller than a traditional samurai film, full of conversations in dark rooms, back-stabbings, bargains and power-shifts. Director Masahiro Shinoda never feels like he has to make it easy for the audience to follow, as the large cast of minor players are never fully developed enough, so it's difficult to keep up with who is who. This, I feel, works both for and against the film. It is on one hand highly intelligent and intellectually stimulating, but on the other hand it allows the plot to become convoluted. It's a shame because I would like to have had time to soak up the mysterious atmosphere, and the beautiful cinematography on show. It is though, as a whole, a very good film, and one I will watch again when I get the chance, in order to wrap my tiny brain around the complex plot.

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This is a film I will watch again, once I have a little better understanding of the politics of the time and place. The film is less accessible to those not of Japanese heritage. The Western movement into Japan has caused a serious disruption of order. Lines are drawn. A charismatic Ronin, Hachiro Kiyakawa, is leading forces. He is an accomplished swordsman, deadly and unpredictable. He manages to get people to follow him, even if they are unclear where his allegiances lie. There are times when closeups reveal what appears to be a madman. His energetic disregard for human life is centered on and he continually puts himself in danger, landing on his feet. Eventually, he is victimized by the confused situation he has helped create. I don't pretend to understand everything, but am incredibly impressed by the work of Masahiro Shinoda. This is a stunning film with beautiful images and nonpareil cinematography. He uses flashbacks to show the rise of Kiyakawa and the victimization of his mistress. There is much storytelling that is quite effective. Apparently, this is an early work. I will endeavor to find more of his offerings in the future.

Japan in 1863: American warships under Perry come to Japan. Realizing they cannot fight modern forces, the 200-year-old Tokugawa Shogunate signs a treaty. This triggers a call for restoration of the Emperor's power and a death-to-foreigners movement. The Shogun is almost immediately assassinated. The new Shogun tries to ally with the Emperor through marriage, but prepares a back-up plan. Master swordsman Tetsurô Tanba. He is a ronin, a masterless samurai, and the son of a farmer. Though accomplished in the sword and the arts, he is despised by the hereditary samurai. With Tokugawa backing, he begins to assemble an army of ronin to march of the Imperial palace at Edo. Soon, he is exceeding instructions, and the Tokugawa plan a further backup. Eiji Okada orders Isao Kimura to be ready to assassinate Tanba. The Shogunate doesn't know what Tanba is up to. His old death-to-foreigners-and-up-the-Emperor confederates don't know what he is up to. The Palace at Edo issues no decrees. Does he know what he's doing?

Masahiro Shinoda's movie is a long and confusing examination of the cruelty and viperous nature of late Tokugawa Japan, the decadent end of that phase of Japanese history. It's filled with many startling images, offered in black-and-white factuality, that removes any trace of romance from the story; even the love story of Tanba and Shima Iwashita, whom he rescues from a brothel, is filled with pain and anguish. It's as effective a condemnation of Old Japan -- and by inference, New Japan -- as anything that Kurosawa did.

Set in the times immediately after Commander Perry's breaking of Japan's isolation, this film covers some of the chaos and uncertainty of the Japanese political and social classes resulting from contact with a more powerful foreign force.

The film revolves around the character of Hachiro Kiyokawa, a farmer turned master swordsman and scholar. We first meet him after his arrest for the killing of a detective working for the Shoganate. As a supporter of the Emperor and a conspirator plotting to destroy the Shogunate and kill all foreigners, he is most wanted by the Shoganate forces who are interested in gaining power thru foreign technology. Surprisingly, he is pardoned if he agrees to organize wandering ronin to defeat the supporters of the Emperor. Amazingly he accepts the job but he isn't trusted so the Shogunate devise a plan to kill him if he turns on them. His co-conspirators on the Emperor's side are shocked at his apparent defection and quarrel over what to do.

The bulk of the film consists of flashbacks as the many characters recount an important incident involving Kiyokawa. We learn a lot about his eccentric personality, the setbacks he's endured only due to being a farmer's son, and his slightly cracked ambitions. Unfortunately this format makes the film hard to follow as it's often hard to know when we are in a flashback or not. The excellent black and white photography is remarkable but there's no stylistic difference between flashbacks and present events. Perhaps this was intentional but, at least for me, it made the film hard to follow. In addition this film contains no characters that are likable in the end. Every single one does something selfish or cowardly except for Kiyokawa's girlfriend who is horribly tortured but never gives him up. She doesn't make it halfway thru the film. Even the "hero" Kiyokawa ends up disturbing us.

Hard to recommend if it wasn't for the excellent performances, photography, music and action. The direction is very good but the film doesn't hold together for me by the time it's over. If you are a fan of Japanese period political dramas, it's worth a look. You might like it

Japanese drama set in the mid-19th century during the upheaval caused by the arrival of American warships, which led to political and social strife between the Imperial forces loyal to the emperor and the Shogunate forces who wanted to stay isolated. The latter decides to recruit a notorious ronin samurai named Kiyokawa (Tetsuro Tamba) to form a ronin guard to strike at Imperialist sympathizers. Much of the film is comprised of flashbacks as various characters reminisce about Kiyokawa and what they've seen and heard about him, with some painting him as a principled man of wisdom and mercy, and others as a phony lower class murderer.

Those looking for typical samurai action thrills will be disappointed, as this is a straight-faced drama and character examination. Tamba, a very capable actor who has assayed both heroes and villains to good effect in many other films, is well cast as the ambiguous Kiyokawa. The movie may be a bit too cluttered and fragmentary to be very effective, although director Masahiro Shinoda (Pale Flower, Samurai Spy) manages some striking B&W imagery here and there.