When the Last Sword is Drawn (2003)
AKA: Mibu Gishi Den
Premise: Through the eyes of an admiring student and a humbled rival, a dramatic story unfolds of how one samurai fought to support his family and the weakening Shogunate even as power and public opinion was shifting to the Emperor during the Meiji Restoration.
Review: Western audiences will remember 2003 as the year that Tom Cruise graphically portrayed a civil conflict during the Meiji Restoration that led to the fall of the samurai as a fighting power in Japan. By Hollywood standards The Last Samurai was a carefully crafted and entertaining film, but it unfortunately overshadowed another, superior Meiji-era film released the same year in Japan entitled When the Last Sword is Drawn.
Free from the constraints and pitfalls of introducing a highly romanticized and fictional cross-cultural exchange, director Yojiro Takita (Onmyoji) delves much more deeply into the compelling struggle that forced a dwindling number of samurai to choose between their loyalties to the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Emperor who was in the midst of consolidating his power in an effort to modernize the country. The Last Samurai simplistically portrays the samurai as a noble breed only interested in serving the Emperor and preserving their harmonious Bushido way of life. In contrast, WTLSID uses the pious and selfless life of one samurai to show Bushido as it was intended to be, yet was largely forgotten by the majority of men who either fought for no reason at all or simply to save themselves. While the story does fall into gratuitous sentimentality towards the end, it still manages to present a complex, very personal, and thought-provoking representation of the samurais' end.
The story is masterfully told in a non-linear fashion beginning in 1899 as an elderly man named Hajime Saito (Koichi Sato) brings his ailing grandson to a doctor. An old picture of a samurai in the doctor's home becomes the focus as the two men discover they share painful memories and close ties with this samurai. Through their individual perspectives, a complete 'picture' of the man known as Kanichiro Yoshimura (Kiichi Nakai) is slowly revealed. Initially he is shown becoming one of the 'Wolves of Mito,' officially known as the Shinsengumi Clan who are fiercely loyal to the shogunate, yet consider themselves protectors of the Emperor as well. When the shogunate is finally abolished, the men are forced to choose sides which leads to a fateful battle between sword-wielding samurai and the Emperor's newly formed troops armed with rifles and cannon. With this struggle as a backdrop, the film explores what brings Yoshimura to the clan and what motivates his peculiar actions that initially cause Hajime Saito, his fellow clan member to despise him. Eventually Saito and the doctor, who turns out to the son of Yoshimura's best friend find closure through their shared memories.
The details of this film's story deserves to be explored at greater length, but to do so would reveal spoilers best left waiting to be discovered. The use of flashbacks could have easily become tedious or have taken away some of the story's immediacy. But this never happens thanks to wonderful direction and storytelling. In terms of scope and presentation, Yojiro Takita's direction is light years ahead of Onmyoji, his previous film. This effects-filled, period fantasy is enjoyable popcorn fare, but WTLSID has the added depth and genius to match the works of legends like Akira Kurosawa or Kazuo Kuroki. The only slipup is in the final twenty minutes where the momentum starts to wane as a little too much time is spent emotionally wrapping up the story. Yet I do appreciate that the director isn't afraid to let a scene play out long enough to draw out emotions, particularly when the actors do make good use of every moment.
Otherwise, pacing is excellent as classy and expertly choreographed swordplay frequently breaks out amid the meaty drama. The film's opening action sequence is amazingly shot in one long take as the camera swoops down from rooftop level and takes in members of the Shinsengumi Clan as they engage in sparring. The more life-threatening action is not gratuitously gory, but one beheading in particular is incredible. Hollywood generally wouldn't touch this scene with a ten-foot pole and even if they did they wouldn't know what to do with it. Yet in a classical samurai film, which this is, it not only serves a purpose in character and story development, but acts as a graphic reminder of what samurai swords are capable of in the hands of a master. This and every other scene is shot with clarity and simplicity, with just the right amount of dramatic oomph.
Even though there are no armies of thousands or even hundreds meeting in open battle, the production is still first-rate. The film makes up for the lack of grandeur of past samurai classics by honing in on the characters. When the Last Sword is Drawn is ultimately a very personal film that intimately exposes its characters who are all played very well by a top-notch cast. Leading man Kiichi Nakai, who also stars in He Ping's Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003) is a rare breed of actor with everyman looks who is able to imbue his character with both strength and humility. In addition to quality roles in lesser chambara films including The 47 Ronin (1994) and Owl's Castle (1999), Kiichi deserves recognition as one of the leading chambara stars of the new millennium. Joe Hisaishi, the composer best known for scoring many of Hayao Miyazaki's anime masterpieces including Princess Mononoke, delivers a beautiful, modern orchestral score good enough to seek out on CD.
Along with Yoji Yamada's Twilight Samurai (2002), When the Last Sword is Drawn appears to signal that classical chambara is on the rise again thanks to Shochiku who produced them. Both are excellent, but WTLSID is more robust and action-packed. Despite being overlong, it's a fabulous film that harkens back to the genre's finest moments and sets a high standard for those to follow. -
- Mark Pollard
Reply With Quote
