[jmovie] Bushi no Ichibun review

[scottishlass]

First off, I have to say that I watched the movie as a bad quality copy with no subs and that of course, I have already pre-ordered my copy of the Special Edition that comes out in June or July! That said, even despite the really bad copy of the movie, with a watermark running through it, it was a pleasure to watch it.

I think everyone knows by now what this movie is about, but here is a short no spoilery recap:
Shinnojo and Kayo are married and live a quiet yet satisfied life in the shadow of the local daimyo. Shinnojo who dreams about opening a kendo school for children, works as a food taster to the daimyo and the monotony of his job really dissatisfies him. One day, due to poisonous seafood prepared out of season, he is poisoned and even though he battles the poisoning, he ends up blind. As he loses all zest to live, his wife shoulders the responsibility of their small family. When she is forced to sleep with an official to grant her husband a life pension, Shinnojo repudiates her and challenges the offender ...


Yamada Yoji delivers his usual quality with this third part of the trilogy and even though all three movies deal with love and honour in samurai times, in his third and last movie of the trilogy love is very much in the foreground. While Twilight Samurai and Hidden Blade handled love in a more round-about manner and put bushi (honour of the warrior) into the foreground, in Bushi no Ichibun it is the other way around. The concept of bushi is used to retain love.
Why?
When we first meet Shinnojo and his wife Kayo, they are so obviously in love. Not that they are overly demonstrative, after all we are talking Japan in Edo times here and in samurai society love between man and wife was not publicly shown, even while at home alone, the relationship between two ppl was very much restrained by rules and tradtitions. But Yamada shows their love in small gestures, a loving look from Kayo and a half-smile from Shinnojo and you know, these two might have married due to family obligations (as was the rule in these times) but they grew to love each other in the course of their marriage.

They lead a very quiet life within the traditions of samurai society, and though they are not rich, they live a fullfilled life. But when fate strikes and Shinnojo is cast blind after food poisoning, their life is shattered. Not only does Shinnojo lose his eyesight, he also looses his job (and hence their small income) and his will to live. Kayo takes on the challenge bravely. She shoulders their life and with her quiet, loving ways not only nurses Shinnojo back to life but also makes him see that suicide is not an option. Here, the story takes a decided turn towards ichibun rather than bushi.
In samurai society it was common place that a disabled samurai committed seppuku rather than being an obligation to his family. This is also shown in the various family members discussing Shinnojo's duty after his recovery, more or less telling him and Kayo he should commit suicide so that they can be compensated (a dead samurai was still worth something). Shinnojo decides against common rules and conventions and chooses love (and life - staying with his wife).

But what about bushi? Honour also takes a great part in the movie - first in the form of duty as Shinnojo works for his daimyo and later when he reclaims his and his wife's honour.
Even though bushi-do (the way of the warrior - the rules according to which samurai live) dictates him to ban his wife after she is soiled and not fit to be a samurai's wife anymore, and Shinnojo obeys this rule, he unconsciously plans to use the one thing that will enable him to take back his wife (according to bushi-do) - to challenge his wife's rapist. He knows he can lose all, because his enemy is a formidable swordsman but nevertheless, because of his love for Kayo, he is driven to hone his sword skills and his hearing.
The challenge is two-fold: Not only does he want to reclaim his honour, but knowing that the official lied to his wife because of the life pension (the daimyo had already granted it thanks to Shinnojo saving the life of the daimyo), he also wants to reclaim his wife.
In the end, Shinnojo realises that the honour concept that he has devoted his life to and has followed up till now, is nothing more than a cage that closes you off. The character has made a quiet but nevertheless amazing journey, he has grown so far beyond the code of honour when he reflects upon the way Kayo prepared his food, and how he loved to hear her voice and that he was stupid to repudiate her because of honour. (He says to his servant: "Baka, ne?!") And in the end the small smile he cannot wipe off his face when Kayo is back in his arms.


There are so many small scenes that have a great impact and the cast, especially Kimura Takuya and Ran Dei, impress very much. To tell you the truth I was a bit edgy when I heard Kimura was the lead in this big production. Yes, he IS a good actor, and he can certainly carry a movie, but the role of Shinnojo is so totally different from everything he has played before. Here, he is not the romantic lead or the dashing ice-hockey player, or the abused murderer. Additionally, for the most part of this movie, Kimura cannot rely on his eyes. Normally, he expresses a lot through his eyes - a look, a wink, a blink. But in Bushi no Ichibun he is blind, and you actually accept this and believe him that he is blind. Kimura pulls it off with a certainty, a quiet intenseness that leaves you in awe.

Ran Dei portrays Kayo both as a strong woman as well as the fragile flower. Her confession to Shinnojo is painful to watch, but she leaves nothing out, doesn't gloss over the fact she was raped and that she should have known what the official had been after. But she endured it all for Shinnojo's sake.

Yamada has created a masterpiece, Bushi no Ichibun and certainly the best of the trilogy. All comes together here, the cinematography, the acting, the sets. It all gells to a wonderful and wondrous movie. It is very quiet, very Japanese, very Zen. The movie is set almost always either in the dimly lit house of Shinnojo or their garden with its blooms, trees and shrubs and the changing of seasons. It is more what we in Germany call Kammerspiel (intimate play) than a grand movie with many different characters and locations. Due to the enclosure of society as well as the limitation of space (locations) Yamada creates a very intense movie that draws you in and makes you think about it even long after the credits have rolled off.

I'm so looking forward to this movie with subtitles, it will be a pleasure to watch it again with the additional in depth understanding of the characters.