O Samurai do Entardecer

Twilight Samurai

'Twilight Samurai' is a very sweet film. Sorry, those words, sweet and samurai, may not be used together too much but believe it! With luck, 'The Last Samurai' was just that for Hollywood but please Jollywood bring on more of these.

'Tasogare Seibei' is a story about a low-level Samurai family headed by a widower raising two daughters and his mother who's lapsing into senility. What little action in this film shows how far Seibei (Hiroyuki Sanada) has drifted from his professional prowess. He earns his keep as a scribe and an insect trap maker. When he is called on to defend the honor of his clan, his skill is resurrected although his heart is not in it.

Beautifully filmed and dramatically staged, 'Twilight Samurai' will amuse, dazzle and delight you. Told from the perspective of his daughter reflecting on her life with father, this sentimental tale has the feel of allegory and even novices to this genre will enjoy it. My only criticism is the abrupt ending without a clear resolution. And my lack of Japanese language skills distracted me from this well-acted, set and costumed film.

Just another reason to learn the language.

Twilight Samurai exemplifies the commitments of duty and sacrifice to one's children and one's community. The father -Seibei Iguchi- struggles between the honor he owes to his family and the demands of his work & fiefdom in feudal 16th century Japan. His character is not one of superficial envy engaging in many swordfights and long action sequences, instead this story seems to be as realistic as possible and profoundly moving as the viewers heart can help but go out to Iguchi in his struggle. This is an excellent film for any age or nationality to enjoy. I highly recommend Twilight Samurai It is already one of my all- time favorite films.

I approached director Yoji Yamada's period film anticipating the usual brew of flashing blades, unfathomable codes of honour and majestic arterial sprays but found instead a gently melancholic and beautifully played story of unspoken love and ethical struggle.

Seibei (a mesmerising less-is-more turn from Hiroyuki Sanada) is a low-ranking widowed samurai with a senile mother and two daughters, working in the castle's stores and taking in piecework to get by.

Grief at his wife's death has led him to turn his back on violence but he is confronted with it nonetheless, firstly as a result of the return of a childhood friend for whom he has strong feelings and who is fleeing her abusive marriage and, finally, when the politics of the day overtake his clan and he is ordered to carry out an assassination.

Seibei's struggle is not for outward respect but to find integrity within a social order over which he has no influence, making the bursts of violence all the more jarring.

Yamada's film is rightly compared to Kurosawa's work and its thoughtful, lyrical tone and themes resonate powerfully.

The settings and photography in this film are not "grand" but give the impression of realism and the grittiness of life in feudal times. The storytelling devices and attention to detail are core to the feeling I took away from this film, which was one of dipping into a tiny slice of time but seeing a myriad of ageless issues (honour, duty, grief, non-ambition, family priorities). However, what really impressed me was the way the main part (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) grew through the film. At the beginning of the film he seemed physically smaller, his whole demeanour and features were weak and insignificant. Having never seen him act before, I felt I was going to struggle to relate to this man as a lead role. It was incredible to see him (partly through acting and partly through subtle directing) grow into the figure we see at the end; he's taller with wide shoulders and strong features, yet remains a gentle and humble man. This is a very touching film and one which I could definitely watch over and over.

I had been waiting a very long time for this movie to be released in my area, so when the time came I was fairly excited. Often, when I expect a lot out of a movie I am disappointed and end up hating something that may not deserve it. In this case, however, it lived up to and exceeded my expectations. The story line, character development, framing, pacing and action were all absolutely top-notch in my opinion. The film stands as a stark contrast to many other movies set in the same time period in Japan and beyond that it also possesses a very universal appeal. It reminded me of other good dramas in its tone (at times even a bit like the film "In America") and it had funny moments as well as heart-wrenching sadness throughout. It was effective without being too melodramatic, and did a wonderful job of enticing the viewer to empathize with the main character. From a martial arts standpoint I thought that the techniques used were very realistically applied and not at all outside of the realm of what samurai in this time period would have been doing. The fights were tense but very realistic. The last duel was stylized to a greater degree, reminding me of certain moments in Kurosawa's films and by extension certain Kabuki influences. All in all it was a very strong film. It's deep enough that it could stand up to repeated viewing, and in the way of subtititled films it would actually get better each time. Even if the story doesn't interest you it would be worthwhile to see it for the natural beauty of the location and the shots anyway. One of the finest films about feudal Japan that I have seen, and one of the best films I've seen at all.