Saturday, March 12, 2011

The Twilight Samurai (2002)


The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)
The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei / たそがれ清兵衛 (2002)

Genre: Drama
Director: Yôji Yamada
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa
Duration: 129 min.
Rating: 8.7/10

Summary:
Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. A widower, he has charge of two daughters (whom he adores) and a senile mother; he must therefore work in the fields and accept piecework to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedences.


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The Twilight Samurai by Yôji Yamada, is the first film from his samurai themed trilogy, followed by The Hidden Blade and Love and Honor.  It was nominated for the 76th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2004.  It is an incredibly realistic account of the life of a lowborn samurai, not the typical glorified heroic stereotype you would expect in a samurai movie.

Really a powerful film that captures the nuances of that era of Japanese history with a deeply rich and touching story, fantastic character development, superb acting, and beautiful cinematography.  All done without any overblown trickery or tired cliches.

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)

The Twilight Samurai / Tasogare Seibei (2002)


7 comments:

Jack L said...

I've been meaning to see this one, I just love Samurai films adn would be interesed to see a modern one...

Cheri Passell said...

This is a really beautiful blog and I'm glad I've found it!

Beasts in Human Skin said...

Great blog! I loved this film but it's so sad...

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Banacek. Yeah it is rather bittersweet.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Welcome Cheri!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

If you couldn't tell by your avatar...

Adalmin said...

DUDE. I am watching a TV series on Netflix called Film School and it is driving me bananas. You should check it out; a bunch of directors have cameos and you really get to see the nitty gritty of student filmmaking in the series.

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