Ôkami yo rakujitsu o kire

Kenji Misumi was one of the preeminent Japanese chambara directors in the 1960's. A distinctive stylist who could elevate his films with emotional context. He was a regular Zatoichi director as well the main director for the exceptional Lone Wolf series in the 1970's. This is his last film and it is a high point of his career.

The film follows the story of Sugi Toranosuke, a ronin, who returns to his home town of Edo many years after his attempted suicide as a sickly child. Rescued and adopted by a master swordsman, he has grown into a master swordsman and a very kind gentleman. The time is around 1868 the year that the nails were finally put into the coffin containing the feudal system that nurtured and sustained the samurai. Sugi is confused and unsure about what is happening but his teacher wants him out of the chaos of the multiple power struggles between the various clans.

The story is very complex and features several important characters who disappear for a time and come back. Familiarity with the events of the time will help the viewer transverse the complexities of the different clans and who is who. For example, we are briefly shown Kondo, who is the leader of the Shogun's Shinsengumi force (but we are not told that) and later we are told his head is being publicly displayed. It's meaningless for anyone unfamiliar with Japanese history.

Regardless the movie is very well made and the story of Suga thru this chaotic time is compelling. Director Misumi, who is known for his stylistic flourishes, keeps the movie restrained but the the visuals retain his signature style. Viewers expecting the strong visuals of the Lone Wolf series won't be entirely disappointed but Misumi directs this film in a more serious tone. The sound track is by Akira Ikufube, better known for his Godzilla themes. It actually gives the film a feeling that it was made in the early 1960's and that might have been purposeful by Misumi. Many of his films show his high disdain for the samurai times and this film certainly keeps up with that theme. It's almost as if this film was trying to end the chambara genre once and for all. Certainly the genre had petered out by 1975.

Long but worth it. I suggest reading about this era first.

Due the overlong presentation the viewers have to be patient to understand so complex story, in early scenes have several flashbacks insert in the storyline ongoing, which could to bewilder a little bit, the movie takes place on the final period of feudal clans that starts in 1863 a sort of civil war against the western powers that are willing to establish a new governing system, the picture itself focuses in some main characters, the skilled Ronin Sugi Toranosuke (Takarashi) since when his father has been pressured by his stepmother to disinherit him in benefit her own son, then the sick boy jumps in a river trying a suicide, Sugi has been rescued by his future master Ikemodo Mohei (Tamura) who raised him and trained him to be a unusual Ronin on fight's style, his master actually is a disguise lead spy, Hanjiro (Ken Ogata) is a farmer lower class, but is a rare gift warrior, who want enter in the high circle of the Shogunate clan, among others peripherals characters the story is getting stronger and gripping about a real facts befallen until 1879, a sort a deep uprising where until Edo changes the name to Tokyo and all caste system was revoked, in this bumpy environment on Japan reshapes old traditional practices, a movie to be discovered by newest generation!!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

THE LAST SAMURAI (1974) is an epic drama about the modernization of Japan in the years 1863-1877 and is not to be confused with the Hollywood film of that title starring Tom Cruise and released in 2003, even if the time periods covered overlap a bit. This film, directed by Kenji Misumi, is not so much about the physical or cosmetic changes in the country during that period, as the westernization process began in earnest, but about the changes in the hearts and minds of the people as embodied in one man, Toranosuke Sugi (Hideki Takahashi). Raised by a pro-Shogun swordsman, Toranosuke is encouraged to go to Edo (Tokyo) and adapt to the new age, even if it means going against the Shogun. Toranosuke winds up as a witness on the margins of a whole series of important events of a period marked by civil war and social upheaval, and has friends on all sides of the conflict. He manages to rise above it all, but does not come out unscathed by it. The film itself doesn't condemn any of the participants, aside from those who behave the most cowardly and viciously, it simply sees the changes wrought upon Japan during that period as inevitable and the destinies of its characters irrevocable. It mourns the casualties but doesn't suggest they could have done anything differently. Only Toranosuke, who took his teacher's words to heart, is able to personify the new spirit of Japan.

It's a long film, 158 minutes, and it tells its story in an episodic format, divided into two parts. There are ellipses in the narrative and an abundance of characters whom the audience is assumed to be familiar with, including Saigo Takamori, a key figure in the Meiji Restoration. Japanese audiences won't need a primer beforehand, but American audiences might. It will help to have seen other films on the subject beforehand, including films on the Shinsengumi, the infamous band of pro-Shogun fighting men aligned against the Imperial forces, featured most notably in two films that have come out on DVD in recent years: THE SHINSENGUMI CHRONICLES:I WANT TO DIE A SAMURAI (1963) and SHINSENGUMI: ASSASSINS OF HONOR (1970), which I've also reviewed on IMDb. There is a large cast of characters, including four major male characters and three female characters. The female characters are generally assertive and straightforward about what they want and don't sit at home waiting patiently for their men to come back. One of them even becomes a nun for a while, but that doesn't stop her from having an active love life.

This was the last film directed by Misumi, who is better known for his Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Cub movies and also directed THE SHINSENGUMI CHRONICLES. This one just might be his best. He adopts a restrained, classical approach to his storytelling here, and, except for one spectacular revenge scene with a fitting gruesome end for its target, goes easy on the blood and gore. THE LAST SAMURAI tells the story of the rebirth of a nation, as experienced on the ground by the common people, and is masterfully told and beautifully presented.

It's a little curious. At large the narrative carries a muted tenor and is somewhat deliberately paced as it builds, yet just as the editing often feels excessively curt, individual scenes are often decidedly more brusque and direct as they present, with more boisterous energy. To that same point, the sequencing sometimes comes off as disjointed as the plot, as it presents, bounces around a little, and moreover without absolute, uniform clarity. The result of these factors and other sundry peculiarities is that despite the plain earnestness and overall care of the feature - Misumi Kenji's adaptation of Ikenami Shotaro's historical novel - there are odd slivers of discrepancy and ill-fitting construction as the tale is imparted of samurai Toranosuke, caught between two paths at a turning point in Japan's history. Such matters aren't so severe as to gravely diminish the viewing experience, but they come to our attention rather quickly and remain prevalent as the story gradually ticks forward. In one fashion or another, something perpetually feels off about 'The last samurai,' like one tidbit or another is always ill-advised or just didn't belong.

These issues are noteworthy and unfortunate, in some measure leaving a persistent mark on the whole. Still, the judicious, purposeful plot development makes more of an impression than the relatively coarse scenes; the weighty drama at the core of the saga supersedes some puerility, cartoonishness, or touches of melodrama. The storytelling and execution are definitely imperfect, but as the picture speaks to a time of great sociopolitical upheaval and violence, the entirety is perhaps more than the sum of its parts (which includes both plusses and minuses). More than not this is engaging and compelling, and even with perceived troubles its more than 2.5 hours go by swiftly in light of the broad strength of the storytelling and production. As we would well assume of most any period flick, significant consideration was given to all the details that would bring this distant time to vivid life, including lovely filming locations, superb sets, and impeccable costume design, hair, and makeup. Where violence takes precedence the stunts, effects, fight choreography, and otherwise action sequences are terrific and exciting; where quieter drama prevails, with comparatively infrequent exceptions the acting is fantastic, capably bringing to bear the sobriety of this depicted moment in history with swell performances of poise, nuance, and physicality.

While I think the movie has its faults, far more than not Misumi and Kunihiro Takei's screenplay is strong and steadfast, with the value of the scene writing and narrative handily outweighing any drawbacks. Much the same certainly goes for Misumi's direction, characterized by mindful calculation more than not so as to achieve just the right tone and desired impact; some scenes unquestionably meet with more welcome success than others, including a tragic beat to come in the latter half. With that said, in general the back end arguably tends to be tighter than the first half, as if - with all the foundations laid, if sometimes a tad more roughly - the substance to come had the benefit of sharper focus from all participants. Imperfections remain through to the end, but when all is said and done 'The last samurai' is absorbing and satisfying, rising above its lowest points. I recognize the kinship it shares with other jidaigeki films. All told I don't think it's a title that altogether demands viewership, yet if one admires Japanese cinema it's most assuredly well worth exploring. I see what it does well, more than sufficient to compensate for its shortcomings, and I just wish that the full length enjoyed more even-handed, meticulous application of the skill and intelligence of all involved.

I don't necessarily think there's any need for one to go out of their way for 'The last samurai,' but it's a solid, engrossing period drama that keeps us invested, and I'm glad to give it my firm recommendation.