El samurai rebelde

Musaki Kobayashi may be one of the lesser known names in Japanese film making, but this is no minor movie (I haven't seen his better known movies, Hari-Kiri or Kwaidan yet). For those seeing it without knowing a little about it, it will be a very surprising samurai flick - no action until the end, no real sub-plots - a script that is more like a domestic drama in its entire focus on a small group of people - a noble (if relatively low born) Samurai, his son and his daughter in law, formerly the mistress of the Clan Lord. The family are pushed to destruction as the pride of the three refuse to allow them to accept the unreasonable demands of their Lord and his scheming right hand men.

While the movie doesn't have quite the flawless pacing, flowing editing and perfect black and white photography of some of the very best movies of the period, this is more than made up by the fantastic acting and gripping story. As always, Toshiro Mifune is magnetic in the lead, but all the parts are well filled. Kobayashi keeps a firm focus on the key story and admirably avoided the temptation to add the sort of sentimental sub plot that so many of this type of movie uses. The final scenes are magnificent.

Kobayashi was something of a rebel himself - he refused promotion when a soldier in the war, and continually fought his studios so he could make movies on his favored theme - the injustice of the feudal system of Japan and the corruption of modern japan. The Japanese studio system has frequently been criticized for the way it tried to turn great film makers into hacks - but when so many great movies how can we complain? The sad thing is that this movie seems to have been one of the last of the great samurai films - after this the genre degenerated to simplistic chop-em-ups, with only a brief recent revival in movies like Twilight Samurai (which I suspect may have been influenced by this movie).

If there is one thing to be said about this film, it is excellent in every detail - story, direction, cinematography, music, action, I could go on and on. There are few film makers who can turn a simple tale of feudal injustice into such a moving drama.

As the movie progresses, Toshiro Mifune's character slowly transforms into an epic hero - for his sense of honour and his love for his Son for which he is ready to defy his own honour-bound Samurai's oath, to rebel against the very world he lives in. The heroism and integrity of his sacrifice are presented in exquisite detail with poignant dialogue (even in subtitles). This in itself is an amazing achievement when the compared to the trend nowadays is to try to impress the viewer with visual trickery or mind-numbing fight sequences with excessive violence.

I truly appreciate Masaki Kobayashi for the respect he shows to his viewer's intelligence, for intelligently presenting the true heroism of a human standing up against impossible odds.As an exercise, you may compare this movie with the over-budgeted disaster of a Hollywood movie called "The Last Samurai" to know what I am talking about. With an excellent story and great characters with potential for true heroism, "The Last Samurai" is one of the dumbest movies ever made.

This is also no dumb "You killed my master so I will kill you" Hong Kong movie or a "Lone Wolf" movie with it's absurd and senseless blood-spilling. All of you Action movie fans, this is also not a beat-each-other-to-pulp or chop-you-up-like-a-fish movie.

The fight sequences are excellently executed and are almost the best that I have seen so far (The fight sequences in Harakiri must be THE BEST ever).The character of Tatsuya Nakadai is interesting as well in that it is not really clear what his true intentions are - he seems torn between his selfish desire to better Mifune's character in a duel bound up with his loyalty to his clan against his honour as a friend. Warning: So watch it if you enjoy an excellently told social drama and you will see what makes a masterly piece of art.

SAMURAI REBELLION is not one of the best known Japanese films, although it deserves to be. It is very in theme to the masterful HARAKIRI from the same director, and with this film he matches that film's raw emotional power. It's a must for Toshiro Mifune fans.... he delivers one of his finest performances as a jaded elder samurai. He once again gets to share screen time with Tatsuya Nakadai, who has a small but memorable supporting role. The always reliable Toru Takemitsu delivers a fine score made up mostly of Japanese instruments, and Kobayashi's direction is flawless.... this film is filled with memorable set pieces, and it's just the sword fight scenes, although those are pretty incredible too. This is one of about six Kobayashi films available in the west (HARAKIRI, KWAIDAN, and the HUMAN CONDITION trilogy make up the rest)... that's a shame because, based on the quality of these works, he clearly stands among the greats of Japanese cinema.

"During the powerful Tokugano Regime in Edo (presently Tokyo), there were 264 lords or "daimyo". These feudal lords ruled their clan and the people under them".

In 1725, the henpecked samurai Isaburo Sasahara (Toshirô Mifune) and his friend Tatewaki Asano (Tatsuya Nakadai) are the best swordsmen of their clan. Isaburo regrets his arranged marriage with the dominator Suga (Michiko Otsuka) and expects to give a good marriage to his son Yogoro (Go Kato). However, their Lord Masakata Matsudaira (Tatsuo Matsumura) orders Yogoro to marry his mistress Ichi (Yôko Tsukasa), who has a bad fame in the clan since she slapped the lord's face and torn his clothes apart. The Sasahara family objects but Yogoro accepts to marry Ichi for the good of his family. Instead of a pampered woman, Ichi proves to be a good wife and discloses the reason of her reaction to Yogoro, when she surprised him with a mistress after bearing their son. Ichi delivers the baby girl Tomi and is loved by Yogoro. When the lord's son dies, he orders Ichi to return to the castle to legitimate their son and successor of his clan. Yogoro does not accept the order under the protest of his family, and his brother Bunzo (Tatsuyoshi Ehara) lures and kidnaps Ichi, bringing her back to the castle. Isaburo and Yogoro decide to request the return of Ichi and have to face the wraith of their lord and clan.

"Samurai Rebellion" is another Japanese masterpiece, with a beautiful and engaging romance in the period of Tokugano Regime in Edo and comparable to Romeo and Juliette. Further, this is also a cruel story of attitude against tyrannical governments and I loved the line "We All Have Our Own Way of Living". I am fascinated by the rich Japanese history, despite my knowledge be limited to the movies I see, and I found "Samurai Rebellion" wonderful also in this regard. The direction and acting are awesome, and the stunning Toshirô Mifune has another fantastic performance. The black and white cinematography associated to the magnificent camera work, settings and scenarios gives an intense reconstitution of Japan lifestyle in the Eighteenth Century. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 18 April 2024, I saw this film again.

Isaburo Sasahara is a former samurai warrior and master swordsman who now lives a quiet life as head of his family, he has been continually henpecked by his wife for all their married life, so its his ambition to have his eldest son Yogoro married to a woman who will respect him. Isaburo's plan is thrown into disarray however, when he receives a notification from the Lord of the Aizu clan, that he would like Yogoro to marry Lady Ichi, a mistress of his who has fallen out of favour. This in itself seems rather insulting to Isaburo, as Lady Ichi he learns has a reputation of being violent towards his lordship and added to that she has an illegitimate child by him. After much family discussion they all agree that to refuse his lordship's offer would mean certain ruin for the Sasahara family, so they agree. Much to their surprise Lady Ichi is a kind, affectionate, helpful and thoroughly pleasant woman. She regales them with tales of his lordships cruelty and adulteress behaviour, the family are pleased she has finally found happiness with Yogoro.

Yogoro and Ichi are blessed with a child, that helps Ichi forget she had to give up her first child, as it was second in line to his lordships domain. However after the heir dies, Yogoro now head of the family receives another request, that Ichi should return again, as her son is now heir and it wouldn't be fitting for the mother of an heir not to be with her child.This however is the final straw and Isaburo and Yogoro set out to defy their lord and fight for their rights.

Samurai Rebellion was Masaki Kobayashi's first foray into the field of independent films and he returned to a familiar theme (previously used in Harakiri,1962) of injustice perpetrated by a tyrannical authority figure. Kobayashi teamed up with legendary Toho studios and Mifune Productions to recreate the literary vision of Yasuhiko Takiguchi's "Hairyo tsuma shiatsu" in a script by Shinobu Hashimoto. The films original title literally translated as Rebellion: Receive the Wife was changed for western audiences at the request of Toho, as they didn't believe it sounded manly enough for a Western audience that were very keen on Samurai films. Despite its more familiar title, this is very much a family drama, that wonderfully builds up its characters and to label it as a Samurai or action film would be erroneous, the rebellion scenes occurring only as we near the finale. Kobayashi's also uses Japanese architecture and symmetry to further the mood, using pillars, castle walls, doors, protective eaves and endless straight lines to promote stability, when the Sasahara family are having a less than unified debate on their predicament, the members are all stationed at unusual differing distances from the camera making the harmonious composition appear unsymmetrical when a member leaves the room and also towards the end of the film Isaburo and Yogoro remove all elements of geometric stability from their home as they await the arrival of their feudal lords men, their act seemingly to once and for all end their association with their restraining dogmatic social structures.

The performances are all superb, Mifune giving us one of his more retrained performances with only glimpses of his more familiar gusto as he emotes and reflects on the tragedy of the situation his family is in. The great Tatsuya Nadakai is restricted to a few brief scenes, but his power still shines through. Yôko Tsukasa and Go Kato also produce memorable performances as the loving couple willing to die to retain their partnership. Samurai Rebellion is a powerful film that reflects its directors concerns with the abuse of authority, it exudes class and visual style and its attention to detail is second to none. As a film it can't be faulted.