TUE | 21. 2. | 18:00
Director: TSUKAMOTO Shinya
Cast: IKEMATSU Sôsuke, AOI Yû, NAKAMURA Tatsuya, TSUKAMOTO Shinya
2018
80min
2018 Venice International Film Festival, Competition
2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Masters
2018 Busan International Film Festival, Gala Presentation
After 250 years of peace, most samurais struggle as ronins without a master. Warrior Mokunoshin Tsuzuki protects villagers and keeps his martial skills up by training young peasant Ichisuke. His unfulfilled love for a girl named Yû keeps him in the village. War is approaching, however. Masterful fencer Jirôzaemon Sawamura plans to leave for the capital city and bring other samurais along to serve a new master. Both young men are preparing to leave with him. Matters get complicated due to a bunch of wild ronins who appear in the village’s vicinity. Their leader is rumoured to be cruel and the villagers start to panic at the thought of their protectors leaving. The hot-headed Ichisuke confronts the ronins, in effect unleashing drastic developments. The minimalist treatment of the story on the backdrop of a forest and a village, initially somewhat shaky image, and the master swordsmen whose purpose in life is to serve and kill without hesitation result in a take on the samurai phenomenon that is radically different from what we have seen in classic films.
© 2018 SHINYA TSUKAMOTO KAIJYU THEATER
