Sekigahara

I expected a lot from this movie. but i was disappointed with so many aspects. you have to really pay close attention to the narrative because there were so many characters crammed in that i found it difficult to keep track of who was who.

the build-up to the climax was very slow and you would need a lot of patience for a movie which is 2 hrs 30 mins. when it came, the climax was anti-climactic as far as i am concerned.

the best thing about the movie is the cinematography. lush green bamboo forests, the scenery are visual delights and deserve extra stars.

The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 was one of the pivotal moments in Japanese history. Although the battle itself only lasted 6 hours, the events which led up to it were years in the making. This was effectively the battle where the Tokugawa clan began the usurpation of the power base of the Toyotomi clan put in place by the regent Hideyoshi. This film is the story of the political maneuvering and events which led up to the clash at Sekigahara where the Western forces organised by Ishida Mitsunari were pitted against the Tokugawa in the East. I really liked this film because of the way Ishida Mitsunari was portrayed by Junichi Okada. In many of the Taiga dramas which deal with the backdrop to Sekigahara, Mitsunari is portrayed as an indecisive un-charismatic coward with his own lack of leadership, personality and battle nous being responsible for the result of the battle. Here he is portrayed as competent and intelligent and it is a refreshing change. The film is quite slow to start with but that is a simple reflection of the reality of the build-up to Sekigahara with the Tokugawa playing the long game before making their move. The film is beautifully shot with lavish backdrops and excellent costumes. The acting is also excellent. I can see why anyone without a bit of knowledge of Japanese history would be bamboozled by the plethora of characters presented here and that may spoil some people's enjoyment of the film

I want to see much more from this title and finally i was a little bit dissapointed. We view the movie by Mitsunari view and see almost nothing about the character and thinking of Ieyasu. I also want to see more of Kobayakawa personallity and how he was thinking. The battle was nicely filmed but it started after two hours from the beginning of the film!

Outstanding recreation a of the factions and politics of the warring factions leading to a critical battle paving way to the supremacy of Tokugawa shogunate. The film makes these historical participants come alive, interesting portrayal of Ishido Mitsunari , departing from the tradition depiction. Ishido seeks and fights for justice and sees Ieyasu as usurper. word of caution - The film is viewed much better if the the viewer gains a little background knowledge of the facts leading to the conflict (a wikipedia article will do!)

What we saw in this film is a guy, Sakichi, who put righteousness, justice, morality and fairness before everything else. A dreamer, a very unpractical person tried so hard to be politically correct in the chaotic Japanese feudal period. A guy with conscience and loyalty to his master, with a bigger heart and love of Japan, an idealist. But he was also so stubborn and arrogant, could never hide his despise to those who were ambitious and not loyal to their master. Such person was doomed to be a loser. His old friend reminded him: "There's no justice or righteousness once you are dead."

To the film itself which was adapted from the famous Japanese author, it was not well crafted, so sometimes it just looked vague and awkward. The cinematography was good though, the mountains, the field and the lake....all of them looked just so beautiful.