By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yôji Yamada
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada | Nenji Kobayashi | Rie Miyazawa
Original language title: Tasogare seibei
Country: japan
Year: 2004
Running time: 129
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/combined
Michael says: “I’ve been itching to see this film on DVD ever since Georgette mentioned how much she loved it several weeks ago. I’d never pegged Georgette for a martial arts kind of gal, and as it turns out, TWILIGHT SAMURAI isn’t your typical martial arts kind of flick. Both more traditional, and more dramatic that the recent high-wire antics of Lee or Yimou, but also more serious than ZATOICHI, TWILIGHT SAMURAI is a moving tale of a rare breed of man during the twilight age of the samurai in Japan. Seibei is a samurai of low rank. His wife has died of consumption, and he is left to care for his two young daughters and a senile mother, all on a low-ranking samurai’s pay. He never joins his co-workers when they go out for a drink, but instead returns home to tend his crops and care for his family. He doesn’t have the time to mend his clothes or take many showers, but he lives a serene and contemplative, if not exactly happy life. His love for his daughters is his driving force, and as long as there are happy, learning at school, and safe, Seibei is content. When a Tomoe, a childhood friend, returns to the village after escaping an abusive husband through a rare divorce, Seibei find himself in a curious position. He and Tomoe click well together. His daughters enjoy her. And Tomoe is clearly smitten with him, coming by, day after day, to help with the housework and care for his daughters. But Seibei feels unworthy of Tomoe, who comes from a family of much higher status. To top things off, he is assigned to kill a dissenting officer and has lost his taste for combat.
“Director Yoji Yamada draws a beautiful cinematic portrait, with gorgeous cinematography by Mutsuo Naganuma, a gentle screenplay the he co-adapted with Yoshitaka Asama, and a warm, heart-breaking performance by Hiroyuki Sanada (RINGU) in the lead role. This film is near perfection, save for a brief, cloying epilogue the unfortunately puts a bit of a sickeningly sweet taste in your mouth after a beautifully, understated, romantic, and dramatic story. It wasn’t enough to tarnish the film, but when the narrating daughter finally appears as an older woman, you can just turn the movie off.
“I was captivated and swept away by TWILIGHT SAMURAI. Look for Sanada to appear on my list of Best Actors, with a nod toward the cinematography, and possibly the director as well. I hope a few others manage to catch this one. Nice call, Georgette! 4 ½ cats”
Bruce says: “This gentle, lovely film is beautifully filmed and well acted. Narrated by one of the daughters of Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada), TWILIGHT SAMURAI chronicles her father’s struggles of being a single parent in 19th century Japan. His wife died of consumption when the children were both under five years of age. The three of them live with his mother who is senile. Iguchi is a 12 Koku samurai which means he is on the bottom level and does not really earn enough to make ends meet.
“Iguchi’s tranquil life is upturned by two events. Tomoe (Rie Miyazawa), the sister of his good friend has left her wife-beating husband. Tomoe was a childhood friend of Iguchi’s and always had a crush on him. The crush has persisted through the test of time; Tomoe becomes a regular visitor to the Iguchi household ostensibly to spend time with the two motherless girls. As attracted as he is to Tomoe, Iguchi cannot afford a wife.
“When a neighboring war lord begins to make trouble, Iguchi is offered a commission to kill one of the enemy tribe. Iguchi believes that killing requires an animal ferocity and calm disregard for one’s own life, neither of which he possesses. Nonetheless, he accepts the commission when he is offered the opportunity to become a higher ranking samurai. In one of the many marvelous scenes in the film, he has tea with the man he is hired to kill. Telling more of the story would not benefit those who have not seen this film.
“Hiroyuki Sanada executes his role with magnificent grace and dignity. Rie Miyazawa is a delicate yet strong Tomoe. Yoji Yamada, an old Japanese master, has directed many films since the early 60s including the Tora-San series which supposedly is the longest film series in history with 48 individual films contributing to the whole. In THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI, he creates an incredible ambiance as he depicts scenes in the everyday life during the samurai era. Avoiding any temptation to turn the film into an action picture he concentrates on character and the human condition. 4.5 cats”
Thom says: “While I will readily admit that this film had quality written all over it, it got me thinking about Asian martial arts/kung fu/samurai films in general and not in a flattering light. There can be no doubt that this guy was portrayed as a hero, of sorts. But I’ve seen so many films of late such as HERO, THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, ad nauseum, that any type of Asian violence has come out being cartoonish, so this throw-back to people really being hurt, while realistic, doesn’t make for compelling viewing. It helps that the lead Hiroyuki Sanada was so handsome. But does violence really have to be the answer to all the world’s problems? The ending of the film was quite touching. Much of the film was too darkly lit for my tastes. The director has made 48 Tara-san films. Does anyone know what that is about? 3 CATS”