Trailer | Interview with the Director (EN) | Review from Montreal World Film Festival (EN)
Let me just preface this review by noting that I live in Korea, speak a working-level Japanese, and ordered a Blu-ray copy of the movie from Amazon Japan. The movie may not be available for an immediate viewing in the most Western hemisphere. I hope posts like this help generate excitement so that it becomes available soon.
I am a fan of all genres of movies, but I especially love all kinds of "historical action" genre films from different cultures- namely, Western, Wuxia, and Jidaigeki. My favorites would be the usual classics- "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966, Western)", "Dragon Inn (1967, Wuxia)", "Harakiri (1962, Jidaigeki)". As I grew up, I started looking for "modern masterpieces" for these genres that surprisingly came few and far between. Some movies would receive critical acclaim, and I would enjoy watching them, but they never felt like "masterpieces", as I wanted to use the term sparingly. I did eventually find three movies that define the sort of films that I can watch over and over.
- Western: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Dir. Andrew Dominik / DOP Roger Deakins
- Wuxia (Korean): Duelist (2005) / Dir. Lee Myung-se / DOP Hwang Ki-seok
- Wuxia (Chinese): The Assassin (2015) / Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien / DOP Mark Lee Ping Bin
If you watched any two of them, you may see a pattern here- each noted for its cinematography, a revisionist approach to the genre, a slow-burning pace with a limited burst of action, and a literature-like storytelling where the viewer is expected to piece together the narrative. I can talk about those movies for hours and hours. I would almost call them therapeutic, considering how many times I watch them before I go to sleep.
Unfortunately, I never found a counterpart to these movies from the samurai genre (chanbara / jidaigeki). Takashi Miike would put out something promising every now and then, but they all seemed oddly lacking in some aspects. I do understand that the current Japanese film industry is riddled with systematic issues (e.g. a consortium based production, too much influence from merch sponsors, etc) that do not reward a more artistic approach to the medium. Regardless, I was on a personal quest to find the perfect modern masterpiece to the samurai genre for the past 10+ years, until yesterday.
Samurai's Promise (散り椿, Falling Camellia) is a 2018 movie directed by Daisaku Kimura, a veteran cinematographer-turned-director who began his career in the 70s, notably working with Kurosawa Akira on Seven Samurai as Assistant Camera, and Kihachi Okamoto on Sugata Sanshiro (1977) as a DOP, before becoming a prominent director himself with such works as Mt. Tsurugidake (2009) and Climbing to Spring (2014). It stars Junichi Okada as Shinbei Uryu, a gifted samurai who comes back to his hometown upon his wife's death after a long exile. He was implicated in a financial and romantic scandal which broke up the friendship of four friends who studied together since childhood, which he must now face while also coping with the death of his wife.
- Cinematography: The movie is shot beautifully, using a steady camera that highlights the four seasons of Japanese countryside. This is perhaps in large part thanks to the director's background as a DOP.
- Narrative: His experience in working with the classic directors in the 70s also shines through the storytelling. The story begins rather abruptly, and the viewer is expected to assemble the hints of the characters' past lives and its implications today.
- Stunt Choreography: The action sequences are short but powerful. It helps that Junichi Okada has been starring in lots of jidaegeki movies and dramas for the past 10 years, and has been trained in swordsmanship as such. His movements are beautifully choreographed.
- Acting: The acting is free of the almost anime-like overly dramatic and emotional tone prevalent in modern Japanese films, and is closer to the classic Kurosawa or Hollywood schools of acting. The film is also not centered on Junichi Okada's character and can be considered an ensemble cast. I will not go into detail about this, as the character progressions and developments are one of the biggest strengths of this movie (something that many modern Japanese movies find challenging).
- Music: The usage of classical Western string score on music may seem asynchronistic in the beginning, but in my personal opinion, plays well for any audiences outside of Japan.
This review may seem like I am gushing (I probably am), but I do finally feel like I have found the perfect samurai film that harkens back to the golden age of Japanese cinema. I hope this long post may help some others who are on a similar quest as I was.
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