Fight, Zatoichi, Fight - 1964

Well, that was dark. I thought the ending of the last movie was dark. That ending does not hold a candle (ha) to some of the things in this film. Fight, Zatoichi, Fight is the eighth movie in this franchise and we're still rolling strong in terms of quality. This is also the eighth movie in two years. Back in the day where you filmed a movie in two weeks. But let's get back on point. This movie is dark.

Don't believe me? The premise of the film. Ichi takes a baby from his dead mother to live with his father. Not dark enough? The mother is killed when a gang of bandits stab through a litter carrying her. Why is she there? Because Ichi saw her on the side of the road while riding in his, while she was having trouble, and offered it to her. The men who stabbed through it are a group of killers hired to kill Ichi. So within the first five minutes a mother is dead, baby is orphaned and all because Ichi was trying to be a good citizen.

This is another road movie for our hero. Much like Zatoichi on the Road, he only stays in one place long enough for a gag or fight scene before moving on.  Zatoichi truly cares for this child and tends to him the best he can, stealing all sorts of stuff to use as diapers along his journey. Though he does throw the baby in a gambling parlor to take out his sword and do the fancy "your cheating, look how fast my sword is" trick.

Admittedly after the opening of the film, a lot of scenes with the baby are humorous and light hearted. From Ichi telling those attacking him to "shush" as he's just put the baby down to sleep. or hiring a prostitute to tend to the baby so Ichi can get some rest, and the goes on to be an over bearing father constantly checking up on the baby, before he finally rests.

This brings us to Ko, played by Hizuru Takachiho. Perhaps one of the better female companions for Ichi in a while. She shows independence from him, for a short while at least. Her arc is going from thief/pickpocket to mother figure and while I find her turn to be fast, I it is a least a good arc, seeing her grow and accepting responsibility for her actions. And it has been a long while since a female lead fell in love with Zatoichi and felt real.

So, we get to the climax of the film. Zatoichi arrives in the city where the father of the baby lives. And we get to see bother Ichi and Ko deal with having to give up a child that they both have come to love, and want to keep. It's heartbreaking. Made all the worse by the fact the father is a complete scum bag. When Ichi left on his journey, it had been told to him that the father was a decent hard working man. In this village we learn the truth. He has become a yakuza boss and intentionally left his wife and child behind to escape from the responsibility of them.

This all culminates in a confrontation with the killers that have been following Ichi throughout the film. Ichi gets a confession from the child's father, who then proceeds to try and strike Ichi down. Which leads to his death obviously. Ichi then leaves the baby boy in the care of a monk, and leaves silently with the young woman Ko watching him leave.

Well, that brings us to my thoughts on the film. And they are that this is the best of the series so far. Shintaro Katsu is at his best, moving from comedy to heart break so well. You can tell he cares for the baby, which makes me wonder whose baby that was. This is a heart breaking ride for the blind masseur, and it's also a fun one. The tone doesn't feel unbalanced, not as you might think based on my description. But this is certainly a film that is worth sitting and watching.

Next is Adventures of Zatoichi. I have no witty joke about this one.