Zatôichi abare tako

True, Zatoichi movies follow the same general pattern from one film to the next, and they're uniformly watchable. With Zatôichi abare tako, however, the film-making is on a higher level, with a convincing balance of swordplay, drama, and genuinely amusing moments. Perhaps most satisfying of all, the plot has a few truly disconcerting twists - even from the very beginning, when Zatoichi is nearly killed.

Period details are rendered nicely, as with the primitive ferrying service, and let's not forget the sword tricks; at the very start, Zatoichi, troubled by a few flies and unable to sleep, dispatches the insects in two quick strokes. When we see the culminating "fireworks," it's perfectly integrated into the film.

This film shows enough film-making craft to put it near the top of the Zatoichi canon.

In a plot not unlike A Fistful of Dollars, here we have Zatoichi dealing with two big gangs, the differences being that one of them is good and Master Ichi stays loyal to them. Of course, the movie is filled with the expected Zatoichi humor and action goodness, so it's definitely a worthy entry into the fine series. Following what was started in number 6 (The Chest of Gold), Flashing Sword continues to add some blood to the sword wounds, especially at the end. One shot has the red stuff spray hard all over one of the paper doors! Speaking of that, there was also an angled, side-scrolling action sequence with Zatoichi working his way down an alley that reminded me of the hall fight in Oldboy. Cool stuff!

If you've seen one Zatoichi film, then this one will be nothing new. The thing is, that Shintarô Katsu does such a great job playing Zatoichi, that I don't care how similar these movies are. This movie is a little different in that the beginning of the movie has several light humorous moments, the fact that Zatoichi is shot seems to have no bearing. But like all the other films in the series, it gets serious. In case, pretty serious. Katsu can be lighthearted and charming but when he means business, I wouldn't want to mess with him. As for the battles not a whole lot until the end, but that one is a doozy. I tried counting how many people he kills; I lost count after 35. So, if you're a sucker for Zatoichi, then this one should be fun viewing.

This Zatoichi film starts off in an unusual way. The camera is mounted on the ceiling looking straight down on the people in the room! The scene itself is fine, but the way they filmed it was nice as a change of pace. Interestingly enough, the final shots of the film were also done in much the same way, but in a darkened hallway.

Immediately after this, a guy is yelling because he apparently shot Zatoichi. However, they can't find a body because Ichi swam away and was cared for by an old woman until he could go back on his journey. Oddly, some unnamed benefactor paid her for her nursing him to health. Who this is and why, we don't yet know.

In the next scene, a group of punks invade a kendo dojo. Looking to hurt someone, they pull Ichi inside and proceed to get their butts kicked. I was actually more impressed with actor Shintaro Katsu's work with the bamboo kendo sword than his usual swordplay--it was very fast and impressive.

While not as impressive technically, there also was a very unusual underwater fight. Five thugs attacked Ichi while he was bathing in the river. He led them to deeper water and then dove under--and one by one the bad guys were gutted as if Zatoichi were a shark! There was also a bit more humor in the film than usual. One routine is a cute one involving a guy who makes money carrying people across the river on his shoulders, but the one I really liked was Zatoichi and the guys peeping at the lady taking a bath.

The main story is pretty typical of a Zatoichi film. One big boss is trying to muscle in on the territory of another lesser one. The big boss is a nasty, laughing, obese stuttering guy and again and again he tries a variety of tricks to try to hurt the other boss. Fortunately, Zatoichi is on hand to help out when things start to spin out of control. And, as fireworks begin to go off, so do arms, legs, etc. as Ichi takes the battle to the evil warlord. Yay, Ichi!

Not one of the highlights of the series, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword simply doesn't display enough of Ichi's skills. There's very little action and what there is is brief. The story itself feels padded out, even at a brisk 82 minutes, and one gets the feeling Daiei was simply trying to turn out as many films as possible to capitalise on the character's popularity. It's not bad, merely disappointing.