[KFCC] Twilight Samurai Review

Story: During the last days of Japan’s Edo period, a samurai named Seibei is struggling between supporting his poor family and his duty as a samurai. The days of the samurai are almost over now, duels are forbidden and the sword is no longer an object of respect as it was used to be. Seibei’s duties are now limited to that of a simple clerk in the clan office. Since the death of his beloved wife, Seibei’s life has never been so hard. With two young girls, a sick mother at home and 50 bales of rice a year, Seibei wishes he could live a peaceful life as a peasant instead of a poor one as a samurai.

However, things take another turn when Tomoe, his old friend’s young sister, is coming back to live in the village. Seibei and Tomoe have been friends since their childhood, but destiny has separated them and now they might have a chance to make a new start together.

Review: Based on the best-selling novel by Shuhei Fujisawa, and directed by Yoji Yamada famous in Japan for his Tora-san series (more than 48 episodes), The Twilight Samurai is one of the best contemporary samurai movies. With a wonderful cast of characters and a touching story of a man outcast by the changing times he lives in, Twilight Samurai is a surprising piece of art.

Exploring a part of Samurai history, the fall of the samurai reign, the story is a pure delight to follow. It is not necessary to know Japanese history to understand the context of the story; it’s pretty easy to follow and won’t take you too much time to figure out how life was at the time.

The story is indeed a major part of the movie. Taking place in a time where heroism and swordplay no longer have a place, mixed with a lot of drama elements and very few fighting scenes, the story focuses much more on the characters and their development. This might turn off those who were looking for a samurai movie filled with sword fighting, but those who are looking for an incredible samurai story will be delighted by the movie.

The casting is also incredible and this makes a great impact on the story. Without these wonderful actors, the story would not be as interesting to follow. Seibei, played by Hiroyuki Sanada, was really an interesting character. Very humble and always hard working, it is very easy to feel the emotion he goes through. Another very important character is Tomoe; the girl that Seibei always carried in is heart. The development between these two characters is really important as it is what gives Seibei a new hope of turning his situation around, and living as he always wished to.

This is indeed a well-crafted samurai flick, but I know that most people immediately associate the samurai with sword fighting. Twilight Samurai does contain sword fighting; however it is not in that element that he will get recognition. In fact, the movie contains only two swordfights, but both are very well executed, especially the first one which is filmed in one single shot. I prefer to mention that detail as I know that some people will expect to see a lot of great fighting.

With a beautiful cinematography, an interesting story and great characters to back it up, Twilight Samurai is another great samurai historical movie from Japan.