Director Yoji Yamada covers the same ground as with the masterful and Oscar-nominated Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei, 2002) with a very similar story set in the mid 19th century Japan, showing how the rapid cultural changes were affecting the 'ordinary' people. Though seen by some as merely a remake of his earlier work, it is a great work in its own right.
The protagonist of the Hidden Blade is a low-caste samurai from a small village, Munezo Katagiri (a splendidly restrained performance by Masatoshi Nagase), who is in love with his servant Kie (Takako Matsu, also superb), but because of their relative difference in status he is unable to marry. He also comes under pressure from the chief retainer of the clan due to the fact his friend has been declared a traitor. Katagiri has to live with the knowledge that his father committed hara-kiri over a seemingly trivial matter to regain his honour, while the chief retainer demonstrates that he has little of this quality himself. This is against a backdrop of the Samurai converting to firearms and artillery despite the opposition of many to these as cowardly weapons. There are some humorous scenes of the clan retainers trying to get to grips with western military training such as drill and cannon firing.
The camera-work is simple and effective, completely lacking in the CGI that most modern filmmakers seem unfortunately unable to live without. The pacing of the story is beautifully done, so that the film, though long, never becomes dull despite the relative lack of action - there are only two fight scenes to speak of. This does not detract from the movie at all as this is about far more than simple carnage and reflects the fact that Katagari is reluctant to kill despite his skill with the sword. There is far more focus on the themes of love, revenge, duty and honour, and is all the better for it.
The protagonist of the Hidden Blade is a low-caste samurai from a small village, Munezo Katagiri (a splendidly restrained performance by Masatoshi Nagase), who is in love with his servant Kie (Takako Matsu, also superb), but because of their relative difference in status he is unable to marry. He also comes under pressure from the chief retainer of the clan due to the fact his friend has been declared a traitor. Katagiri has to live with the knowledge that his father committed hara-kiri over a seemingly trivial matter to regain his honour, while the chief retainer demonstrates that he has little of this quality himself. This is against a backdrop of the Samurai converting to firearms and artillery despite the opposition of many to these as cowardly weapons. There are some humorous scenes of the clan retainers trying to get to grips with western military training such as drill and cannon firing.
The camera-work is simple and effective, completely lacking in the CGI that most modern filmmakers seem unfortunately unable to live without. The pacing of the story is beautifully done, so that the film, though long, never becomes dull despite the relative lack of action - there are only two fight scenes to speak of. This does not detract from the movie at all as this is about far more than simple carnage and reflects the fact that Katagari is reluctant to kill despite his skill with the sword. There is far more focus on the themes of love, revenge, duty and honour, and is all the better for it.