Le Mont Fuji et la lance ensanglantée

I had never heard of Japanese director Tomu Uchida prior to reading about a retrospective held at London's National Film Theatre in December 2007 but, my interest ignited, I quickly landed this film in my collection. What we have here, essentially, is a tragicomic road movie: the narrative – about a pilgrimage to the titular landmark by a disgraced samurai (prone to violent drunken binges) and his two dim-witted warrior-servants – rambles amiably along in a leisurely and mostly droll vein until the unexpected and electrifyingly bloodthirsty finale. Through the striking use of sweeping camera movement and fast cutting, we are introduced to the trio of protagonists and the major supporting characters right from the very first sequence; the comic highlight comes around the midpoint when an abandoned boy (who joined their party after befriending the lancer) disrupts a solemn tea-drinking ceremony enacted by three noblemen in an open field while naturally relieving himself in the nearby bushes. The second half grows more somber with the episodes of the capture of a notorious tattooed thief disguised as a pilgrim and an old man forced to sell off his daughter as collateral for a measly loan. Nothing however really prepares us for the remarkably 'clumsy' climax (this is no choreographed ballet of violence) in which the lancer single-handedly dispatches the men who had killed his master merely for daring to drink publicly with his subordinate. It is also worth mentioning that several distinguished Japanese film-makers (including Yasujiro Ozu) helped in the making of this film which was Uchida's comeback after a decade spent in China.

I find that many films either focus on story so much that they lack meaning or they go to the opposite extreme and focus so narrowly on a message that they fail as stories. Thus it is with great pleasure that I viewed a film that refreshingly melds narrative with meaning in a fashion that works so well it seems almost effortless.

Tomu Uchida's A Bloody Spear at Mt. Fuji is the story of an unassuming samurai who is more interested in a person's actions than his social standing. In spite of the rigid class divide that exists between himself and his servants he tends to treat them as his equals even when they themselves feel that they are inferior to him. The film features remarkable subplots that add scope and depth to the social criticism offered by the main plot. Among these is the story of a male orphan who idolizes the samurai's spear bearer and a young woman who is sold into prostitution because her family is too poor to support her.

The style of the film is quite unique. I don't know if I've ever seen a movie switch from one a light comedic tone to a tragic one so effectively. While this handles some of the same themes covered by directors like Mizoguchi and Naruse it does so without ever seeming overbearing or ponderous.

This film also boasts one of the best endings I've ever seen. Brilliant end to a brilliant film.

Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is a chanbara film which means a sword fighting movie. Released sixty-five years ago as we speak, it has become one of the most influential films of its genre even though it has been overlooked by audiences from abroad for much too long. This movie has a particular vibe since the sword fighting only occurs during the last ten minutes of the film which makes for a surprisingly brutal finale.

Before this unexpected conclusion, this movie could rather be categorized as a drama that quietly and cleverly criticizes social conventions and restraints. The film follows a group of people who travel from the country side to Edo. We meet a desperate father who sees no other solution to pay his depts than selling his daughter into prostitution. There is a traveling single mother and her daughter who earn a very modest living by dancing and singing at festivals. The film introduces a master who likes to socialize with his servants instead of keeping his distance. All these characters and events are connected to the protagonist of the movie who is a spear carrier with a remarkable sense of duty. He wants to help people in need, encourage those around him and even develops a tender romantic relationship on his journey. Just as the movie seems to conclude with a happy ending, a dramatic turn of events leaves the audience on a most sinister impression.

This intelligent movie convinces in many departments. The characters are profound, interesting and diversified. The numerous side stories are sometimes serious, sometimes humorous but always entertaining. The locations varying from busy town streets over traditional inns to beautiful country roads bring traditional Japan to life in an authentic manner. The camera work is calm and careful and rather observing than flamboyant which fits the tone of the movie.

The film isn't without its flaws. The numerous side stories can't hide the fact that the movie is missing a precise guiding line. The locations end up being somewhat repetitive. The movie's slow pace hasn't aged particularly well. The fact that the movie only contains a few minutes of sword fighting scenes contrasts the rather gruesome and misleading title.

If you are however prepared to watch an intelligent drama criticizing social conventions in feudal Japan instead of an intense sword fighting film, you are certainly going to appreciate this hidden gem with its unusual storytelling.

Chiyari Fuji AKA A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji, Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji - 94 min

As decisively as Kurosawa before him, Tomu Uchida broke the conventions of the chambara or swordfight film with his witty, loose-limbed A Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji, about a young samurai, Shojuro Sako, delivering a teacup to Edo. Travels on the Tokaido to Edo with his two servants, Genta and Gonpachi. Gonpachi has been told by Shojuro's mother to prevent his Master from drinking. The road is not safe. On the way, they meet a young orphan boy, Jiro, and many other travellers. It's an affable samurai road movie with a focus on unglamorus characters, such as the dim-witted young samurai and his two loyal servants traverse the Tokaido highway.

Bloody Spear marks Uchida's postwar return to Japanese cinema and to progressive principles, but this homecoming is markedly ambivalent in its values.

From its shambling "on the road" opening, scored with jaunty jazz and marked by a flagrantly artificial setting and proliferation of incident, to its Shane-like ending, the film takes in a remarkable range of characters and classes, tones and traditions. Its narrative has a peculiar stalling quality, as though Uchida were determined to suspend the expectations of the samurai film by deferring the violence forever.

Full of subplots and spin-offs, scatology, sentimentality, and social satire, this simple tale becomes a sprawling epic whose culmination-a fight to the death among gushing sake barrels-shocked Japanese audiences of its time with its sheer.

A team of great directors, including Yasujrio Ozu, Hirochi Shimizu and Daisuko Ito, assisted Uchida with his remarkable post-war comeback film.

Much of the film is played as comedy, making the brilliantly staged violent climax all the more shocking.

A very down-to-earth without the stereotyped and the traditional glorification of the Samurai but full of colorful common decent kind people, thief, blind massageur, poor father selling his beautiful daughter to be prostitute, woman doing the road shows with her young daughter, an orphan who dreams to be a samurai lancer....

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!