Black Belt

Black Belt, or in Japanese kuro-obi is a Japanese martial-arts movie directed by Sunichi Nagasaki. Although the director was nominated for the Action Asia Award in Deauville Asian film festival in 2008 as well as for the Grand Prix des Ameriques in Montréal World Film Festival in 2007, he didn't win any of those prices. However the film was a great success in Japan. For me too. Before watching this movie, I wasn't a great fan of martial-arts movies because of the exaggerations and the special effects in this type of movies. But after watching this movie of which you can say everything except that it contains special effects. That gives the movie a natural touch. For example there is no one in the movie who is jumping meters in the air while fighting or making incredible stunts and tricks. I have never seen such a movie. In other words you can't feel any distance between yourself and the acting. This makes it easier to watch the movie. The three principal actors in the movie are Akihito yagi playing the role of Giryu, Tatsuya Noka playing the role of Taika and Juji Suzuki playing the role of Choei. None of the three actors is known in the West. The story is about three Karate students. The three rules are played by the just mentioned actors. They live with their Karate master in a secluded forest where their dojo is (a dojo can refer to a temple or to a simple training place where karate students can ameliorate their skills). The events take place in the year of 1932 when Japan was planning for a great invasion of the islands on the Pacific, so they needed a great army. The three pupils were forced by the army forces to join the army. At that time their master dies before he was able to give his black belt to one of his three students. The receiver of the belt will be the successor of the great master. After burying their master they leave forced by the army their dojo. Everyone of them go on a different path based on what he has learned from the teaching of his master. The coincidence will gather them on a battle. The philosophy of martial-arts has an important role in this movie. You must have some background information concerning martial-arts philosophy to understand this movie. I recommend those who do not understand karate-philosophy and think that karate is no more than fighting to watch the movie

This is truly a great film. Original and refreshing in its presentation. Sure, the plot can be easily deduced, but the environment, film direction, pure beauty of clean karate used appropriately makes this movie a real winner.

The picture is beautiful, cinematography excellent. You develop a real connection with the characters as well. The movie is also suspenseful and engaging. The fighting scenes are spectacular. It also captures the historic period of 1930's Japan very well too.

You can even learn something by watching this movie. There are lessons of life to be learned and you can come away feeling very satisfied that your time was well spent.

This is one of those movies where after watching it you say, "Wow."

Tracked it down because one blogger named it one of the top MA movies of all time. No, sorry. On the plus side, was great to see real practitioners on screen. (Unlike the zillion dollar hit series Cobra Kai, for eg). But the story did not not work for me. A martial art known worldwide for strikes ... but the student cannot strike? The trope of the wounded fighter getting shelter from the common folk was used successfully in several Jet Li films ... but completely misses the mark here. And the ending was also disappointing. (WARRIOR 2011 heads my list of the best 165+ films ever -- check it out).

Disregard kobushi's review. His years of experience practicing karate have apparently clouded his judgment considerably. No one save perhaps himself and a handful of others cares a hoot about the true to life mechanics of real-world karate. Suffice to say his approach to the film is laughable in its narrow-mindedness.

The film presents a deceptively simple and elegantly told martial arts fable, set against a backdrop of an increasingly militarized japan. The fight scenes , tho admirably staged and completely credible (and shocking in their immediacy), are merely the seasoning on a powerful tale of good vs. evil. The stylistic flourishes and acrobatic excesses which plague most other martial arts movies are completely absent, and that is a welcome and long overdue development. The script seamlessly fuses the protagonists' journeys of self-discovery with the setting in which the story unfolds. The director's calm, measured approach is refreshing in its economy, a rare thing in a martial arts film. There is a charming honesty about the whole project that makes it difficult to resist..

As the two protagonists wrestle with their own diametrically opposed natures and strive to discover the secret of their training, the inevitable standoff between them is subdued but satisfying, like the film itself. The supporting characters (and I'm thinking mainly of the evil army general), though two-dimensional, are well-written and performed. The acting is uniformly excellent, a laudable accomplishment since apparently many of the martial artists are non-actors..

More than likely the film will be derided by the ADD generation, but i thought it was a welcome return to the style of old Japanese classic films (Reminiscent also of early Bruce Lee movies, in content as well as in spirit). It isn't pretentious or abstruse enough to be labelled an art film, and it shuns the spectacle of mainstream schlock. Kuro-Obi is a humble, poetic film both funny and moving.. and is adorned with a beautiful musical score.

a resounding 8/10

If you like a decent story line with realistic fight scenes like in Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade and Love and Honour you might like this movie as well.

But if you like lots of wire work and long fighting scenes with lots of unrealistic moves then watch your typical mainstream HK movies such as Legend of the Fist, Once Upon a Time in China and Iron Monkey.

Simple.

Just because it's a martial arts films doesn't mean we have to throw them all into one category. They are completely different types of movies. It all depends what you prefer or what you're in the mood of.

Personally, I wish they made more movies like this.