The Hidden Blade (2005)

The film is two hours long and most of the time there are only people doing the usual things expected of them. What makes it not boring is the inner conflict of the characters, so subtly rendered through body language and expression.The plot of the movie revolves around one samurai of low caste, living under the shadow of his father's dishonour, but an honest and kind man. Just at the end of the samurai era, when the entire Japanese society is faced with all the change coming from the west, people are still set into rigid behaviour patterns and he feels less and less part of the world around him.A beautiful, thoughtful, rather slow film, it describes the old Japanese culture and the bureaucratic monsters that it spawned.

While "The Twilight Samurai" is touching and moving while being realistic, this movie has a bit of realism but has more to do with loyalty and virtue. Although this has more action than "The Twilight Samurai" the trailer can be misleading cause this movie is far from being a action packed movie. And like the previous movie it takes patience to enjoy although it's a movie that isn't for everyone. The pacing might be a bit slow but isn't too slow to the point it makes the audience lose their attention. While the previous movie had to do with family, this one has multiple themes combined into one but it works very well. And the portrayal is more realistic when it comes to samurais because it's not idealistic like it's portrayed in some movies. This movie has elements from the movie "The Last Samurai" in it, but goes in a more realistic direction since it isn't really idealistic. The romance elements is done pretty well and believable for most part. Despite the premise of this movie, it isn't action packed with a lot of sword fighting. So if your expecting that, you will be left disappointed but what it does accomplish is that it makes you believe that all the character in the movie is real and so is the plot. Thus it makes the whole experience engrossing and goes in a direction where it isn't really dry despite not having a lot of action for a movie that has samurais and the use of western weapons in it.7.3/10

Munezo is a samurai who serves closely with friends and peers Samon and Yaichiro. When Yaichiro goes far overseas to serve for the clan, Munezo is left with Samon, who becomes closer as he marries Munezo's sister Shino, leaving him at home with his aged mother and maid Kie. The years go by and when his mother dies, Munezo struggles with his studies of new Western weaponry and battle techniques and misses Kie – who has long since married into a merchant family befitting someone of her caste. A man of tradition and respect – Munezo is forced to act against inherited wisdom and practice when he learns of Kie's mistreatment and also of the dishonourable imprisonment of Yaichiro.Some have warned caution of this film to those expecting an action film and they are right to do so, but to me the opposite applied. Screened late at night on BBC4, I recorded this film thinking it sounded interesting but could easily be a very dry film full of its own importance and depth, delivered with long shots for the sake of, stilted dialogue and every single bit of it screaming "restrained!" like the audience is an idiot. Suffice to say, I have been hurt before when it comes to such films! I needn't have worried though because The Hidden Blade manages to be about the restrained traditions of feudal Japan without making the telling or the film be dry and withdrawn into itself. Nor does the film labour the point in the way some similar works have, indeed it does give the audience food for thought in regards the pros/cons of both tradition and progress – neither of which is an entirely good or bad thing but has bits of both. To me this made it more worthy of my respect and interest but what made it so engaging was the amount of ground it covered. I am surprised to read that some found this film "boring" because to me the narrative is surprisingly packed with threads that cover friendship, relationships, loyalty and tradition across many aspects – all of which work really well. OK, I will give you that the final ten minutes could have been done with a bit more certainty but even this was only a minor thing because mostly there is plenty to watch. What surprised me most about it was that it did also have a good vein of humour running through it, my favourite moment of which was the men trying to catch a chicken with a basket – great little throwaway gag.The script is the starting point for it as it builds conflicted characters with as much attention to them as to the world they inhabit. The visual construction of the film matches this as it feels very much in the period and I was quite surprised to find it was made as recently as it was because of how of its time it felt. The cast come good mostly even though I didn't think anyone really nailed it or dominated proceedings. Nagase is a strong actor with almost what the character needs in terms of expression and inner thought processes. He was not quite as distinctive as I would have liked the odd time but mostly he is a firm lead. Matsu overplays the "sweet little maid" role just a tad but the script is strong enough to make it work regardless and she does come over as charming and a character we care deeply for. The supporting cast around these are mostly good with turns from Ozawa (not given enough time though), Ogata, Yoshioka and Tabata among others.The Hidden Blade may not be what you think it is going to be but, whether you assume it is action-packed or dry as a bone, it doesn't matter because the film performs really well at what it sets out to do. The plot builds the world and characters really vividly, providing thoughts on progress and tradition while also laying out both in terms of the relationships, positions and lifestyles of the main characters. It has humour, sadness and intelligence all delivered with professional direction and atmospheric design and cinematography. It is well worth seeing and rewarding with only a little patience required.

And I've seen a few. A film revolving around the advent of artillery warfare and the outmoding of the Samurai shogunite, directed with nostalgia and passion, against the backdrop of feudal Japan, fixed in it's ideas of honour and duty, makes this film a true depiction of 19th century Japan.The love story aside, which is a real and understandable love, the film is more central to the beliefs Japan held on to for 500 years that suddenly and devastatingly became untenable, and yet the honour remains.See this film. Brilliant in every regard.