Shin Zatôichi monogatari: Oreta tsue

I am new to the Zatoichi film series; this was the first film in the series I have seen, after buying a couple of seasons of the TV series and enjoying them. If the rest of the series is as good as this one then I can see I am in for a virtual lifetime of great Zatoichi films - when I can find them in video stores!

"Zatoichi in Desperation" is darker and as another reviewer said, more "heavy handed" than the TV episodes I have seen. The characters - the prostitute given a tentative freedom, the fishermen from the village harassed by the local yakuza gang, the 14-year-old girl about to be forced to work in the brothel and her little brother - are memorable and tragic. Their lives become intertwined with Zatoichi's by a twist of fate - an old woman who accidentally falls from a bridge, and Zatoichi's guilt resulting over it.

This intertwining of relationships, Zatoichi's humbleness despite his master swordsmanship, and the great photography is what makes the film (and the Zatoichi series!) special.

This is the best one, number 24. Ichi realizes that he is not a hero, is making everyone's lives ultimately more violent and difficult than it would have without his existence. He is physically punished for this and still dispatches 20 dudes without using his hands.

If you don't like mean people, you know, actually effective villains, this one might make your little sensitivities buzz. The moral philosophy Katsu evaluates is artful and considerate. This is a brutal, dark, and ballsy entry.

'Zatoichi In Desperation' was the 24th movie in the long running and very popular martial arts series starring Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi the blind master swordsman and masseur. Zatoichi, for those that don't know is a ronin (a wandering samurai), very quiet and unassuming with a wry sense of humour, but an absolute killing machine when crossed! In this episode he encounters an old woman while crossing a bridge, and after a brief conversation with her, she tragically falls to her death. Upset, Zatoichi sets off to a nearby town to look for the woman's daughter Nishikigi to break the news to her. He eventually finds her working as a geisha and learns she only needs to pay a debt of fifty ryo to buy her freedom. Zatoichi becomes obsessed with raising the money and in doing so ignores the hardships experienced by the local fisherman caused by the local evil boss Mangoro. But when Mangoro kidnaps Nishikigi everything comes to a head in a brutal climax, and Zatoichi must save her and his own life. I can't claim to be any kind of Zatoichi expert, but he's a most intriguing character, and Katsu plays the role masterfully. I highly recommend 'Zatoichi In Desperation'.

I've seen 23 of the 26 films in the series (not including the Kitano) and this is by far the hardest to watch. It is less about Zatoichi and more about the cruelty and hardship of living in poverty in a fishing village in Edo era Japan. The film dwells very much upon the secondary characters as ends unto themselves and not just as elements in a story setting up a problem which Zatoichi will eventually resolve. Zatoichi acts as you would expect him to but he is overwhelmed by the misery and circumstances in a way that is unique in the series. Watch it by all means, but not with a light heart. I found myself also overwhelmed by the misery depicted in the film. It is unsettling.

It started up well, yet, at a certain point the script turned to a level of imbecility comparable with a big studio US creation. Well, compared with the level of the US Academy this can easily can take an Oscar for best script.

On the other hand this movie achieves something almost unique. The visual style is so unusual (especially for somebody used with the standard blockbuster) that both makes the film unforgettable and hard to watch. In my opinion this is what Mean Streets and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie should have looked like if the tech team involved would have been skilled enough. The gambling scene alone makes Rounders look like a half baked high-school project (which is not far from the truth anyway).

A 6 for cramming so much into this movie. You have a social message, the indolence of the rich (the young watching the fishermen's boats burn), the unromaticised noblemen, etc.

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