L'ultimo samurai

"Samurai Rebellion" is a feminist action movie. I find that almost unbelievable, since feminism and macho sensibilities usually don't go hand-in-hand, but here they blend together perfectly. That's what makes this film such a rewarding and unique viewing experience.

I won't delve too much into the plot details, but suffice to say that the film concerns some rebellious samurai (as if you couldn't tell!) who are dedicated to protecting a wronged woman, the Lady Ichi. Thankfully, Lady Ichi is no cardboard character - she's as intelligent and passionate as she is beautiful, and her interactions with the samurai are fascinating. So, as the samurai fall in love with her and line up to protect her, the audience falls for her, too. I have to give a lot of credit to actress Yôko Tsukasa for making her character so sympathetic.

The samurai are a strong point, too. The younger one, Yogoro, is played with sincerity and charisma by Takeshi Katô. And the older samurai, Isaburo, is played by that incomparable icon of Japanese cinema, Toshirô Mifune. When he's acting in Kurosawa films, I sometimes find Mifune a little hammy, but in this film he gives an extremely dignified and simply wonderful performance. (I particularly like his little laugh of disdain, which he unleashes when his superiors make unreasonable requests - "ho ho ho!")

Of course, even the best actors in the world need the support of a strong director, and they've got that support here. Unlike Kurosawa, director Masaki Kobayashi doesn't add much Western-style "flair" to his movies; instead, his films (so far as I can tell) are more starkly beautiful and gradually paced. Some might argue that Kobayashi's style is actually a little dull, but I've been conditioned to slowly paced foreign films and I don't mind it a bit. In fact, I appreciate the way that Kobayashi builds up tension and then hits the audience with a really satisfying payoff.

In short, everything about this movie works - the script, the actors, the design, the direction. It features a lovely romance, some cool (if stylized) action, and genuinely surprising plot twists. There's some explicit violence towards the end, too, but unlike most American films, "Samurai Rebellion" doesn't glorify combat. Fighting is depicted as a destructive last resort.

I was perhaps being a little glib when I described the movie as feminist - a Western viewer might not recognize it as such - but it certainly does feature one of the strongest and most compelling female characters that I've encountered in a long time. For that reason alone, this is worth seeing. But the film's many other virtues are impressive, too, and have helped to propel "Samurai Rebellion" right to the top of my list of favorite movies.

Samurai Rebellion is one of the best films I've ever seen. Masaki Kobayashi is my favorite Japanese director next to Kurosawa, at times even surpassing the latter. Samurai Rebellion is a well-acted, brilliantly directed film about standing up against injustice that manages to tug firmly on one's heart strings without ever being cloying. Mifune shows the full extent of his acting abilities by not having to play the sort of macho character that he came quite close to being typecast as, and Yôko Tsukasa is no less remarkable. The soundtrack by Toru Takemitsu is also wonderful, serving to add another layer to the film's narrative and emotional impact rather than merely emphasizing it. Another remarkable aspect of the film is the use of violence: Although the fight scenes near the end are brilliantly choreographed and filmed, they're not in the least glamourous, depicting the desperation, sadness and anger of Mifune's character. It's a terrible shame that most people will never see this film, one that most likely deserves to be considered a classic of world cinema, just because it isn't directed by Kurosawa.

Those of us who are really into cinema know that Japanese cinema in general and samurai cinema of the 60's in particular is a genre not to be overlookedOne of the most popular Japanese directors who has contributed to this genre ('Yojimbo', 'Sanjuro', 'Kagemusha' etc) is Akira Kurosawa (and I myself appreciate Mr. Kurosawa a lot). However he has over-shadowed (at least for the occidental movie fan) a lot of other Japanese directors from this period of the 60's. One of this director is Masaki Kobayashi and one of his movie that has been forgotten is 'Joi-uchi: Hairyo tsuma shimatsu' (AKA 'Samurai Rebellion').

'Samurai Rebellion' - 1967 is in fact a great movie, a masterpiece. It tells the story of an aging swordsman named Isaburo Sasahara (Toshiro Mifune) who during a time of peace (1725 - 1727) decide to retire and leaves the command of the family to his elder son, Suga. Unfortunately when his clan lord request that Isaburo's son marry the lord's mistress the henpecked life that Isaburo was living changed to the worst and split his family into two. This movie is irreproachable; the filming was mastered by Mr. Kobayashi and the acting outstanding. Indeed not only Toshiro Mifune but also the beautiful Yoko Tsukasa (as Ichi Sasahara) the bride of Isaburo's son are a good example of how temperance can trigger emotions on screen. The photography has been done by the book, every panoramic, close-up, etc are perfect and very Japanese (meaning very geometrical). The pacing is also a perfect mix of slow pace scenes that provide character's depth and fast pace scenes for breathless action and sword duels. In short the movie is technically perfect. However what seduced me in this movie is not so much the perfection of the film from a technique point of view but more the originality and the modernity of the story. The rebellion from this master swordsman (Isaburo Sasahara) who is ready to fight for the happiness of both his son and his son's bride is profoundly humanist. Mr. Kobayashi demonstrates with brio that the notion of Justice transcends Cultures and that there is no code of honor that is above the human code

In a world where apathy rules 'Samurai Rebellion' is definitely a modern testimony and shows that Revolt can also be a path to follow.

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.

"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.