Watching this Tai Katô gem for the 5th time, I'm not paying much attention to everything (although I love it). I can truly appreciate how good the action is no doubt, including the score by Hajime Kaburagi, any fan of both the legends should be wondering the same thing. I can't get the ending of out my mind as it closes with one of the best extremely naturalistic action one can make, the space is full with kickass framing, guys fighting in the background, meantime a wounded man heads towards the camera spitting blood and then the finale. There is so much happening, you will not be able to blink for a moment and It is difficult for me to put into words the feelings and emotions that I experienced while revisiting the climax so many times.
Coming to the film, 'The Blossom and the Sword' is not only about Yakuza conflicts. It is a picture of a simple merchant girl who witnesses cruelty beyond all bounds, in different time with a little hope left for finding love. A series of events making things more cruel for her as she takes on the bad guys. Kato covers the period from World War I and the infamous rice riots of 1918. Under these conditions, he places his protagonist, who overcomes each and every challenges and it's hard to imagine another in her place. I bet you that, her eyes will do the talking as it conveyed the palette of feelings in the runtime.
The first half of the film will not appeal to everyone, especially to the niche group of cinema purists. Kato interweaves comedy elements in the plot that won't work for all. But the most interesting and exciting action scenes happens in the second half of the film as we follow the Maki character throughout the film and sympathize with her. The emotional intensity in many scenes is done well, especially after the finale fight. The result is a worthy and outstanding character driven action drama, a tragic story, sometimes pleasant, poetic, even terrifying and thoughtful.
