The Hidden Blade
The Hidden Blade concerns Yaichiro, a warrior who must leave his family in the care of two other samurai after he answers a request for his services in another town. Muenezo and Samon do their best to protect the family when they come under attack during Yaichiro's absence.
Director: Yôji Yamada
Starring: Ken Ogata, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Min Tanaka, Nenji Kobayashi, Reiko Takashima
Enormously enjoyable.
Casually paced and filled with telling detail, Yamada's delicate drama with swordplay (there's not much, but what there is packs an emotional wallop) transcends its specific setting in its depiction of Katagiri's internal struggle.
The Hidden Blade is tranquil, touching, and, in its climactic sword fight, excitingly real.
Yamada's decidedly undazzling yet expressive filmmaking approaches classicism, from a sensei training session captured in one lengthy shot to the final showdown, seen with shifting points of view that suggest a relativist unease with the cut-and-dried judgments of war culture.
Deeply affecting, "Blade'' portrays an oddly elegant way of life that will soon be like the era in that other movie, "Gone With the Wind."
Best Art Direction
Awards of the Japanese Academy (2005)
Yôji Yamada
Berlin International Film Festival (2005)
Best Actress
Hochi Film Awards (2004)
Best Supporting Actress
Mainichi Film Concours (2005)
Yôji Yamada
Valladolid International Film Festival (2005)
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