 |
Did she just prostitute the family pride
for 30 koku of rice?
|
At a glance:
 |
| Rei Dan 檀れい as Kayo |
Wonderful
– the finer points of dyin are again available on general release!
When do we die? Why do we die? How should we die? In a year of movie
trilogies (some would hope they stop at just the three), Yoji Yamada
puts forth
Love And Honor 武士の一分
(2006) the third film of his samurai series after
Twilight Samurai(2002) and
Hidden Blade (2004). The billin for this movie could almost fool
someone into thinking it might resemble that Tom Cruise Hollywood
schlock,
The Last Samurai, especially its choice of English titlin,
but all the solid, subtle elements of arthouse cinema are thankfully
retained. The skinny? In feudal Japan, official Court taster
Shinnojo Mimura lives with his wife, Kayo, in the palace town. They get
by comfortably enough with his 30-
koku (enough rice to feed one
person for one year) annual salary, although he had always wanted
somethin more challengin, like openin a kendo
dojo to teach young kids. Tragedy strikes by way of fish
[spoilers] – a
sashimi
dish was prepared poorly and Shimmojo is poisoned. Upon recovery, he
discovers he's blind. Kayo and concerned relatives fuss over the fate
of the couple, as Shinnojo is now rendered useless in the palace town
and his wife wants to work (big no-no). Fortune favours the blind
samurai when palace officials issue a decree which would support him for
life but Kayo is implicated in a possible sex-for-food trade-off with
one pervy Chief Duty Officer. Did she just prostitute the family pride
for 30
koku of rice? Disgraced, Shinnojo divorces her without
investigatin further, and challenges the 'receivin' official to a
sword duel. Yet, there's still a way out for everyone.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Don't remember complainin. It did what it wanted to do.
Perennial wonderment:
 |
| OK. Let's fight. |
Ancient
bushido
codes are displayed in the film – how a man's life is a sequence of
moments and nothin more. Conservative Asian pride is also beautifully
alive, especially in all the moments where the characters make
irrational decisions, all in the good (and dead) name of love and
honour. Love, in this movie, is profoundly selfless and not always
theatrical. This lends a lot of heart to the story. Honour, on the other
hand, is mostly indistinguishable from love (as it was in more romantic
times), and viewers are given a chance to believe where the two elements
were once one and the same.
Reminds me of:
When the two elements
were once one and the same.
 |
| Sex-for-food solicitation, samurai-style. |
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Some
would say this could be an offbeat character study but the cinematic
devices in its execution suggest otherwise. The motivations of each
character are subtle yet always accessible; Kayo tells the blind Shinnojo that there are no
fireflies although plenty are flyin about.
The appeal lies in its simplicity of story. Traditional roles of
men and women are played with quiet conviction - the domesticated wife,
the disgraced husband, the greedy official, the foolish servant - all
serve the story well. Lead pair Takuya Kimura and Rei Dan are thankfully
convincin in their meditation and guilt, failin which would have
resigned the cast to commit
seppuku, you'd think! There is no morality discussion here
– just a quiet, simple samurai story of redemption. Perhaps the silence
of bygone sentiments can speak louder now when contrasted against the
more eye-pleasin aspects of commercial drama. Surprisingly, due to its
more accessible themes, this film may just find some fans outside those
already resolved to watch it – unlike the samurai in the film who are
never negotiable.
★★★1/2
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