Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
Direction
Yamada's anti-heroic samurai trilogy at its most intimate
Acting
Nagase's silent suffering—every blink is a confession
Cinematography
Mud, snow, and lantern light that aches with restraint
Director
Yoji Yamada
Masatoshi Nagase
Munezô Katagiri
Takako Matsu
Kie
Hidetaka Yoshioka
Samon Shimada
Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Yaichirô Hazama
Tomoko Tabata
Shino Katagiri
Chieko Baisho
Mrs. Katagiri
Kunie Tanaka
Kanbê Katagiri
Sachiko Mitsumoto
Mrs. Iseya
Reiko Takashima
Hazama's Wife
Nana Saito
Bun
Nenji Kobayashi
Kôda
Ken Ogata
Chief Retainer Hori
Min Tanaka
Kansai Toda
Toshiki Ayata
Hiroshi Kanbe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Yoji Yamada was 73 when he made this, completing his 'samurai trilogy' that deliberately rejected Kurosawa's bombastic heroism for something closer to Ozu.
The 'hidden blade' technique itself—draw, strike, sheath in one motion—mirrors Munezô's emotional repression: lethal precisely because it's concealed.
JP
