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| Illustration by Greg Ruth |
I have
begun my quest to watch 25 Japanese samurai films about a blind man. And this
is honestly an OK start. I can see why this became a series of films, then
later a TV show, then a few remakes/spiritual sequels. While I'm not a total
stranger to Japanese cinema of the age, having seen Kurosawa's classics Yojimbo
and 7 Samurai, as well as my fair share of Kaiju. But back on point. Shintaro
Katsu plays the role of the blind Masseur/Yakuza Ichi. Zato is his title as a
member of a guild, at least that is what I've read, my knowledge of Japanese
masseur guilds is sketchy. Shintaro is brilliant, except for a brief scene at
the end, he has his eyes closed the entire film, and so relies on mannerisms
and facial tics to get emotion across, which is really effective. And when they
do open his eyes, though it was hard for me to tell, it does look like they
gave him contacts to get a milky look to them.
The movie. It's a slow burn, but that's often the case in this era, doesn't matter what country. Two rival Yakuza gangs are mad at each other, one side has the Blind Ichi, the other a Yojimbo, Hirate. Hirate is played wonderfully by Shigeru Amachi. The two develop a sort of Romeo and Juliet Relationship, if you change love to respect, that ultimately ends with one killing the other, then them killing themselves. Close enough.
Positives for the film, I loved any time Ichi or Hirate did any fighting. There is a clear moment during this massive brawl in the end of the film, where the Yakuza are waving swords around like sticks, and Hirate is doing clean precise strikes, and it's a great contrast. I always have trouble with acting in foreign films, especially when the language is so far removed from English, but even I can see some great subtle performances from characters.
Negatives, mentioning before, while the Yakuza are very, clumsy with their weapons in combat, it does feel pretty obvious they aren't wielding real weapons, and no real choreography is going on for their fights, just a bunch of dudes told to run around swinging at each other. I could be wrong, but definitely the feel I got. That brings me to Otane, played by Masayo Banri. While she had some spunk and free spiritedness to her, like fighting of a rapist for a brief moment or fighting off her rather evil brother, she seems to fall in love with Ichi at the drop of a hat. This is par for the course for an era, but at the start of the film she is so strong willed, seeing her at the end, following Ichi like a puppy was kind of...sad.
This has been longer than I thought, so I'll sum up a few final thoughts. I really liked this movie. And I do have hope for the franchise as the whole. I plan on watching the sequel The Tale of Zatoichi Continues tonight. Which, by the way, this movie really doesn't end where you think they were planning any more movies. Final notes, The movie was directed by Kenji Misumi, written by Minoru Inuzuka, and scored by Akira Ifukube. If that last name is familiar to you, well, let's just say he is better known for his work with Toho.
The movie. It's a slow burn, but that's often the case in this era, doesn't matter what country. Two rival Yakuza gangs are mad at each other, one side has the Blind Ichi, the other a Yojimbo, Hirate. Hirate is played wonderfully by Shigeru Amachi. The two develop a sort of Romeo and Juliet Relationship, if you change love to respect, that ultimately ends with one killing the other, then them killing themselves. Close enough.
Positives for the film, I loved any time Ichi or Hirate did any fighting. There is a clear moment during this massive brawl in the end of the film, where the Yakuza are waving swords around like sticks, and Hirate is doing clean precise strikes, and it's a great contrast. I always have trouble with acting in foreign films, especially when the language is so far removed from English, but even I can see some great subtle performances from characters.
Negatives, mentioning before, while the Yakuza are very, clumsy with their weapons in combat, it does feel pretty obvious they aren't wielding real weapons, and no real choreography is going on for their fights, just a bunch of dudes told to run around swinging at each other. I could be wrong, but definitely the feel I got. That brings me to Otane, played by Masayo Banri. While she had some spunk and free spiritedness to her, like fighting of a rapist for a brief moment or fighting off her rather evil brother, she seems to fall in love with Ichi at the drop of a hat. This is par for the course for an era, but at the start of the film she is so strong willed, seeing her at the end, following Ichi like a puppy was kind of...sad.
This has been longer than I thought, so I'll sum up a few final thoughts. I really liked this movie. And I do have hope for the franchise as the whole. I plan on watching the sequel The Tale of Zatoichi Continues tonight. Which, by the way, this movie really doesn't end where you think they were planning any more movies. Final notes, The movie was directed by Kenji Misumi, written by Minoru Inuzuka, and scored by Akira Ifukube. If that last name is familiar to you, well, let's just say he is better known for his work with Toho.
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