Synopsis
"Three hundred years ago, Japan was ruled by the shogun..." So begins this film. Naturally, samurais appear. A cunning feudal lord, a naive son of the lord, an old ninja and his disciplies, the master warrior Ronin, a samuria who believes in nonviolence and his innocent yet bright daughter.
This film is not a typical samuria movie. It gives the impression of a parody of samuria movies with its rich description of customs and laughter-inviting scenes. Such an impression is backed by the versatile camera work hinting at the newcomer Director Hiroyuki Nakano's experiences as a specialist in the production of music video, the light-hearted editing and the rock music. However, this is not a parody. It doesn't seem to intend to laugh at the original work or ridicule it. As the director says, this is more like a tribute to the samurai movies of Akira Kurosawa. Director Nakano faithfully revives Kurosawa's style through the composition and matiere of the black-and-white scenes, the dual scenes and the impressions from the actors' facial expressions.
As a result, this film gives spectators who are well versed in the rules of samurai movies the fun of finding some hidden pictures, while offering those without much knowledge of the genre an introduction to it.
P.S.: Hotei Tomoyasu in the role of samurai Kazamatsuri who disappeared with the precious sword is a rock guitarist. He composed, adapted and played all the music works used in the film. (Hong-jun Kim)