Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)

Zatoichi and the Chess Expert is the twelfth entry in the franchise and one of the best movies about the blind masseur, skilled gambler and skillful swordsman. The story of this film is unusually clever, complex and twisted. Zatoichi meets a smart chess player while traveling on a ship and the two end up respecting one another so much that they start traveling together. When Zatoichi is attacked by some folks whom he tricked during a dice game on the ship, a young girl traveling with a beautiful woman gets injured, so Zatoichi organizes some medicine and travels with the two as he grows fond of the joyful child. Zatoichi also encounters a sick man and his sister who is disguised as a man to avoid trouble on the road who travel with a helpful retainer who gets brutally murdered during a prayer. Soon enough, these three seemingly different story lines end up being connected in most surprising ways as Zatoichi needs to figure out who is friend and who is foe.What I really liked about this film is the complex story with its numerous clever twists. The characters also have great depth. Even Zatoichi seems more emotional than usual as he opens up about the love of his life and his low self-esteem while being caring, helpful and respectful to those who need his help. The perfectly portrayed chess expert is hard to figure out because of his harsh convictions versus his impressive intelligence. The young woman Zatoichi travels with falls in love with the blind samurai and is at times desperate and at other times joyful about their complicated relationship. Her child is quirky but polite and its heart-warming to see how the girl and Zatoichi grow fond of one another. The sick man, his mysterious sister and his helpful retainer are also quite intriguing characters. This movie is more than just a classic chambara film and also a drama for all the complex relationships going on and a thriller because of the cruel murder of the retainer. The movie's atmosphere gets more and more mysterious throughout the nicely paced film. The landscapes are memorable, gorgeous and authentic, especially the port and ship in the beginning of the film and the modest inn with the hot springs that plays a central role in this film. The fight scenes are more vivid than in the preceding film. Most sword fights occur at the beginning and in the final five minutes but they are nicely choreographed. My favorite fight scene was when Zatoichi got ambushed in the middle of the night in the muddy meadows while carrying the expensive medicine for the sick child.There really isn't much to criticize regarding one of the franchise's very best films. Obviously, there are some recurring elements in the movie such as numerous gambling scenes, traditional sword fights and Zatoichi traveling through rural landscapes but these predictable elements give each film about the blind masseur their very own identity.If you like sword fighting movies or care for Japanese culture, history and nature, you will particularly like Zatoichi and the Chess Expert. You an learns more about Japan in one hour and a half here than you could by watching anime for a whole year. Since this is one of the most profound entries in the franchise, this movie would be recommendable to get to know a true piece of Japanese art.

Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (Zatoichi #12), known under the more obscure title Showdown for Zatoichi (while the original title translates to something like Zatoichi's Infernal Journey) is director Kenji Misumi's third Zatoichi film and is often brought up by fans when discussing the best entries of the series. While I certainly understand why some people would think this was one of the better ones, I don't really hold it in much of a high regard, especially when compared to previous Misumi films.#12 doesn't throw a lot of its budget on action sequences, focusing instead on character-driven drama and suspense. The few action scenes we get sadly can't hold a candle to sword-fight choreography of previous installments, although the violence in #12 is a bit more brutal at some points. The characters are nothing new, really. There's the love interest, the endangered kid and the obligatory up-to-no-good ronin dressed all in black (the titular chess master). However, we do get an ass-kicking lady taking vengeance on the said ronin, and this isn't really the shiniest spot in Zatoichi's career either. His gambling streak oscillates and he is really clumsy in this movie.It is kinda refreshing that there is no criminal organization in cahoots with the officials this time, but the major problem of the film that it spends too much of its running time on numerous run-on-the-mill gambling scenes instead of developing the female samurai sub-plot. Also, the ending is rushed. So, so rushed. The only thing I got out of this movie is that chess figures had a very unimaginative design in feudal Japan.Highlight of the film would probably have to be Zatoichi's mini-speech on dirt: "The man you're looking at is dirt. And everyone who comes close to him or touches him, in one way or another gets muddied by that dirt. There's nothing I can do about being dirt myself, but I don't what you to get mired in my dirt."

Good combination of humor, action and a couple of twists (although if one watches enough of the Zatoichi movies, twists should be expected). I especially thought in this movie, Zatoichi came across more human and not just the guy that hides his cleverness through bumbling. Things to watch for: Zatoichi hustling the dice players but also failing at his own game, the battle in the swamp with his desperate search for the box of medicine and not one but two suspenseful battles at the end. His discussion with the chess expert on fighting was also insightful. There are swordfights and these last a little longer than the earlier movies but no geysers of blood or decapitated limbs so stay away if you are looking for that.

There's little to recommend about this cheaply made samurai film. The films of this genre boast great patience, but within that patience there ought to be at least a few good samurai battles. There are only two real battles in this one. The first one has a neat setting, but it takes place during the night and it is so dark that it is difficult to see anything. The climactic battle, which is actually two consecutive battles, is very good but nothing compared to those in much more well known samurai flicks. The editing of the film is consistently poor and reduces the effectiveness of many of its scenes. This movie is only 90 minutes long, but it feels as long as The Seven Samurai. 5/10.