JAPANESE MOVIE FESTIVAL REVIEW: SAMURAI LAST NIGHT



* * *


When Kenichi’s wife dies in hit and run accident his life is broken. Five years later the man responsible for the accident, Kijima, is out of the prison. Kenichi decides his wife’s killer deserves death sentence, so he starts sending him threatening notes, promising to kill him on the day his wife’s death anniversary. Kijima knows who is sending the notes and in his own turn starts blackmailing Kenichi’s brother in law. No one believes that Kenichi can really go through with his revenge, but as final night is approaching the tension is building and the lives of both men unravel towards it in a tragic way - as senseless and spontaneous as the accident itself that scarred their lives. Will they have any future beyond this last night?

SAMURAI LAST NIGHT is inhabited by little people with broken pride. Each of them deals with it in his own way, fighting loneliness, fear and loss with every mean available to them, even if it requires threats and intimidation. The protagonist Kenichi is a perfect Dostoyevsky character - an insignificant man who is punched around, but who is starting to rise from his knees, slowly finding a way to deal with his loss. 

Film is episodically shot, dividing time between Kenichi and Kijima almost evenly. We understand Kenichi better but we are embarrassed by his behaviour and indecisiveness. We learn what a spiteful creature Kijima is. We learn to hate him, but does he deserve to die?

While every form of art is a form of manipulation it doesn’t become one until you feel being manipulated. Unfortunately SAMURAI THAT NIGHT makes you feel exactly that - you can almost feel the strings attached to your joints and when they are pulled its not a nice feeling. The movie also is a about twenty minutes too long.

The final scene of fighting in the mud in the pouring rain is definitely a nod to classic Akira Kurosawa - SEVEN SAMURAI. Unfortunately this is the only comparison found here to the work of the great master.

SAMIRAI LAST NIGHT would have hit a better mark if it wasn’t so slow and so manipulative. Although I found the ending satisfying one has to be very patient and determined to watch long enough to get to it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the f...
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - t...
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema...
Read more