La légende de Zatoïchi - La lame

True, Zatoichi movies follow the same general pattern from one film to the next, and they're uniformly watchable. With Zatôichi abare tako, however, the film-making is on a higher level, with a convincing balance of swordplay, drama, and genuinely amusing moments. Perhaps most satisfying of all, the plot has a few truly disconcerting twists - even from the very beginning, when Zatoichi is nearly killed.

Period details are rendered nicely, as with the primitive ferrying service, and let's not forget the sword tricks; at the very start, Zatoichi, troubled by a few flies and unable to sleep, dispatches the insects in two quick strokes. When we see the culminating "fireworks," it's perfectly integrated into the film.

This film shows enough film-making craft to put it near the top of the Zatoichi canon.

The title of this one should be Zatoichi Kills a Bunch of Guys. There's little subtlety in this one. None of the things that made the series great are in this flick at all. If you've seen every other Ichi movie, then, perhaps you should see this one for closure, but, wait until you get to that bridge.

If you've seen one Zatoichi film, then this one will be nothing new. The thing is, that Shintarô Katsu does such a great job playing Zatoichi, that I don't care how similar these movies are. This movie is a little different in that the beginning of the movie has several light humorous moments, the fact that Zatoichi is shot seems to have no bearing. But like all the other films in the series, it gets serious. In case, pretty serious. Katsu can be lighthearted and charming but when he means business, I wouldn't want to mess with him. As for the battles not a whole lot until the end, but that one is a doozy. I tried counting how many people he kills; I lost count after 35. So, if you're a sucker for Zatoichi, then this one should be fun viewing.

Not one of the highlights of the series, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword simply doesn't display enough of Ichi's skills. There's very little action and what there is is brief. The story itself feels padded out, even at a brisk 82 minutes, and one gets the feeling Daiei was simply trying to turn out as many films as possible to capitalise on the character's popularity. It's not bad, merely disappointing.

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword is the seventh entry in the franchise and the second of four movies released within a single year. At the beginning of the movie, Zatoichi is still a wanted fugitive for what he did in the previous films and gets shot in the back by a young man who tries to impress his criminal friends. Zatoichi is saved by a traveling family who pays a local townswoman to nurse the blind masseur back to health. Once Zatoichi feels better, he travels to Kajikazawa to thank the family for saving him. He is welcomed warmly by the generous and respected family and especially befriends the family's beautiful and charming daughter who discovered the dying Zatoichi in a river and saved him. Zatoichi however witnesses how another clan tries to trick the family into a duel over the control of a river ford that all travelers have to pay to cross. The other clan uses the family's hot-tempered son who comes home after having lived the life of a criminal for a year and who turns out to be the man who shot Zatoichi. The blind masseur however tries to save the naive young man despite what he did to him, attempts to prevent the other clan's ruthless conspiracy and finally wants to hear some local fireworks.

On the positive side, the movie's characters are more developed than in many other entries. As a viewer, one actually cares about the friendly businessman who helps Zatoichi and who is very generous towards his community. The businessman's charming daughter is complemented by the businessman's hot-tempered son. The movie's antagonist in form of the leader of a clan who wants to control the businessman's river ford is quite intriguing as he cleverly attempts to keep Zatoichi away from the conflict, hires a group of ruthless swordsmen who want to see Zatichi dead and even uses his own sister to influence the local intendant. Rarely has an antagonist been as clever, organized and ruthless as in this movie. Another element that stands out is how Zatoichi gets treated very well in the beginning of the movie just to be rejected once again towards the end which is heart-breaking to watch. The blind masseur's emotional struggles really come to life in this film. The highlight of the movie are the final thirty minutes or so with intense sword fights in a river, under a bridge and in different locations of a dark mansion. The fight choreographies are quite diversified which make them particularly entertaining.

On the negative side, the character developments of the movie drag on a little bit too long. After an explosive first five minutes, the movie drags on without any sword fights for nearly fifty minutes before the final showdown. There are too many dialogues and repetitive discussions that don't add much to the story. Especially the side story with the deaf firework artist is quite dull. The ending of the film felt somewhat abrupt as one would have liked to get to know more about the fates of the survivors. After a lengthy build-up, that almost aborted ending felt out of place. A true conclusion is missing in this film.

Still, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword is one of the better entries in the franchise thanks to the clever antagonist, a set of well-developed characters and the vivid series of final sword fights. I would recommend this movie to both collectors and fans of the franchise on one side and those who aren't familiar with the Zatoichi franchise yet because this film really shows the blind masseur's strengths and weaknesses in an emotional way.