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Dvd review: When the Last Sword Is Drawn
In Part 13 of my Haru fic "Unmasked," I have Yoshizumi working on a screenplay "about a samurai warrior. Not one of the famous generals or duelists, but a low-ranking soldier, an ordinary man caught up in a war beyond his understanding or control." The plot of the screenplay was actually inspired by a dvd I happened to see at the library called When the Last Sword Is Drawn, as Bronze Ribbons and I discussed here in the comments of the IJ post. Well, I finally got around to watching the movie, and found it quite interesting...
The summary on Amazon reads as follows: "Yojiro Takita's epic film set at the end of the Edo period in Kyoto tells the story of Kanichiro Yoshimura, a lone Samurai whose sole purpose in life was to make enough money to support his family. His fellow warriors initially view him as dishonorable for this mercenary approach, especially Saito, another member of the Shinsengumi, guardians of the Imperial capital. It is here that Kanichiro proves himself time and time again as a master swordsman, eventually earning the respect of Saito and the other samurai."
This was enough to get me interested, since I've been fascinated by the Shinsengumi after watching an NHK drama about them. If you know your Japanese history, you know that Saito is one of the few Shinsengumi members who survived the fall of the Shogunate, and even if you don't, I'm not really giving anything away because the movie is framed as a flashback, with an elderly Saito recalling the story of how he met Yoshimura when he sees the latter's photo in a doctor's office.
Yoshimura is desperate to earn money to feed his starving family, so he leaves his clan (and it was a crime to do so without permission in that era) to join the Shinsengumi, a special police force that was created to keep order in Kyoto and was made up of ronin (masterless samurai). Unlike most of the others, who are fighting for honor and their ideals, Yoshimura is strictly there for the pay. His swordsmanship skills earn him a good position and salary, but he schemes to make more money every chance he gets, which earns him the contempt of Saito. Yoshimura, however, returns Saito's scorn with continued cheerful and friendly overtures, and as they get to know each other better, Yoshimura begins to earn Saito's grudging respect, and a friendship slowly develops between them. But when the Shogunate falls to the Imperialist rebels and it becomes clear that the Shinsengumi are fighting a losing battle, Yoshimura must decide whether he will stay and fight for honor's sake, or do the practical thing and flee to save himself...
I won't spoil the ending for those who want to watch the movie, but it is an ironic twist of fate that Saito, who was willing to die for samurai honor, managed to survive and raise a family--the beginning of the film shows the older Saito bringing his grandson to a doctor. (And historically, we do know that Saito became a police officer in the Meiji era--under an assumed name--and had a wife and child.) So things come around full circle and the hardened warrior ends up as a family man like his former enemy/friend.
It was a good movie, though it got off to a slow start. However, once it gets into the Shinsengumi storyline and the relationship between Yoshimura and Saito, it starts to pick up, and overall I really enjoyed it. I've seen several dramas and read various books and manga about the Shinsengumi and the fall of the Shogunate, and it's interesting to see the story told from different perspectives. I should warn that some of the swordfighting scenes get rather gory at times (mostly towards the end of the movie), for those who are disturbed by such things.
The "making of" featurettes are quite interesting, too. Both the director and the actor who played Saito talk about how when they were younger, they were turned off by the traditional Kyoto movie studios, and so moved to Tokyo to have more freedom. However, now that they are older, they appreciate that sense of tradition and enjoyed working in Kyoto while filming this movie. It made me think of Yoshizumi, and how he would probably also appreciate that sense of tradition, given all the historical dramas that he works on, while someone more rebellious (like Kikuchi) or young and impatient (like Asano) would probably prefer working in Tokyo.
The summary on Amazon reads as follows: "Yojiro Takita's epic film set at the end of the Edo period in Kyoto tells the story of Kanichiro Yoshimura, a lone Samurai whose sole purpose in life was to make enough money to support his family. His fellow warriors initially view him as dishonorable for this mercenary approach, especially Saito, another member of the Shinsengumi, guardians of the Imperial capital. It is here that Kanichiro proves himself time and time again as a master swordsman, eventually earning the respect of Saito and the other samurai."
This was enough to get me interested, since I've been fascinated by the Shinsengumi after watching an NHK drama about them. If you know your Japanese history, you know that Saito is one of the few Shinsengumi members who survived the fall of the Shogunate, and even if you don't, I'm not really giving anything away because the movie is framed as a flashback, with an elderly Saito recalling the story of how he met Yoshimura when he sees the latter's photo in a doctor's office.
Yoshimura is desperate to earn money to feed his starving family, so he leaves his clan (and it was a crime to do so without permission in that era) to join the Shinsengumi, a special police force that was created to keep order in Kyoto and was made up of ronin (masterless samurai). Unlike most of the others, who are fighting for honor and their ideals, Yoshimura is strictly there for the pay. His swordsmanship skills earn him a good position and salary, but he schemes to make more money every chance he gets, which earns him the contempt of Saito. Yoshimura, however, returns Saito's scorn with continued cheerful and friendly overtures, and as they get to know each other better, Yoshimura begins to earn Saito's grudging respect, and a friendship slowly develops between them. But when the Shogunate falls to the Imperialist rebels and it becomes clear that the Shinsengumi are fighting a losing battle, Yoshimura must decide whether he will stay and fight for honor's sake, or do the practical thing and flee to save himself...
I won't spoil the ending for those who want to watch the movie, but it is an ironic twist of fate that Saito, who was willing to die for samurai honor, managed to survive and raise a family--the beginning of the film shows the older Saito bringing his grandson to a doctor. (And historically, we do know that Saito became a police officer in the Meiji era--under an assumed name--and had a wife and child.) So things come around full circle and the hardened warrior ends up as a family man like his former enemy/friend.
It was a good movie, though it got off to a slow start. However, once it gets into the Shinsengumi storyline and the relationship between Yoshimura and Saito, it starts to pick up, and overall I really enjoyed it. I've seen several dramas and read various books and manga about the Shinsengumi and the fall of the Shogunate, and it's interesting to see the story told from different perspectives. I should warn that some of the swordfighting scenes get rather gory at times (mostly towards the end of the movie), for those who are disturbed by such things.
The "making of" featurettes are quite interesting, too. Both the director and the actor who played Saito talk about how when they were younger, they were turned off by the traditional Kyoto movie studios, and so moved to Tokyo to have more freedom. However, now that they are older, they appreciate that sense of tradition and enjoyed working in Kyoto while filming this movie. It made me think of Yoshizumi, and how he would probably also appreciate that sense of tradition, given all the historical dramas that he works on, while someone more rebellious (like Kikuchi) or young and impatient (like Asano) would probably prefer working in Tokyo.
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Here's a post linking to a discussion I started about the movie elsewhere.