monastery-83917

Although the film was mostly boring, it still kept me watching because I feel that Werewolves are more suited for a Cowboy setting. What influenced that preference for me were those tribal beliefs and practices that were so integral to Native-American culture and even their religion.

What would have made the film more appealing was to have incorporated those tribal beliefs and also casting a Native American as a prominent character. In other words, emulate the example of the film MANITOU whose writer had a good grasp of Native American theology.

As it was, the film would have satisfied if it was shortened and presented like a 1 hour episode of The Twilight Zone.

Even as a 70-year-old man myself, I found myself drawn to this film of a protagonist who is female. The reason is because it somewhat reminds me of my own Mother who passed away a few years ago at the age of 97. And somewhat similar to the boy in this film, my own Father passed away when I was 6 years old. So I had to be raised by a single Mother the same as Yukiko in this film. But the big difference is that my Mother was a Registered Nurse.

In comparison, Yukiko is a bar hostess yet still retains her virtuousness. The most striking resemblance I see between Yukiko and my own Mother is her admirable self-restraint, that is, not getting angry in situations that would cause others to lose their temper. Even when I did things wrong, my Mother never yelled at me, and yet I still learned the difference between right and wrong. So that character trait of self-restraint is what I learned and adopted to this day.

Yukiko taking responsibility and never blaming anyone else is a trait we see in the Japanese race as a whole. That's why Japan has the lowest murder rate. Compare that with the high murder rate here in the United States. Notice that the Mass-type shootings here in the states are the result of people who blame others for their misfortune. So we can learn from Yukiko whose character trait of forbearance is actually a reflection of the Japanese ethnicity as a whole.

Admittedly it is with some bias that I rate this movie a 9--because Masakazu Tamura as well as Takao Kataoka are my two favorite actors to portray Nemuri. So that bias might have influenced my rating. Tamura is quite elderly, well into his 70s, maybe even 80s, so I was astonished to see him return in his signature role again. At least a token nod of the head is given to the background of including the priest who raised him during his childhood. In trying to give an honest review of this film I have to admit that Tamura's age affects his performance. Because in the dialogue-scenes his voice is quite raspy, which makes it difficult sometimes to understand and appreciate. But that can be remedied by a repeated viewing, which is what I did. The scene in the Buddhist temple is quite well done and enjoyable. That kind of setting is quite appropriate for the Nemuri character because for me the character has always been known for his stoicism and serenity. Somebody watching this film for the first time might think Tamura's performance as wooden but it's not that at all. Because the titular character was always meant to be shown as impassive, which fittingly reflects the stoicism and serenity of a master swordsman facing death at every turn.