If Hideo Gosha's movies go in twos, then Hunter in the Dark would be the companion piece to Bandit vs Samurai Squad. The bipolar narrative axis in Hunter once again revolves around themes of sociopolitical injustice, revenge and identity but as much as it shares with its antecedents in Gosha's filmography, it's also a genre statement of sorts.
Yataro Tanigawa for one, the one-eyed ronin with exceptional sword skills and no memory of his past, appears to be a reinvention of the Tange Sazen character (another one-eyed swordsman with identity issues) Hideo Gosha directed in his Tange Sazen - The Secret of the Urn in 1966. By casting Tanigawa from the same mold of 60's serialized alienated ronins like Zatoichi or Tange Sazen, the director seems to be invoking the pulpy past of samurai cinema. By 1979, well past the genre's heyday, this is already post-modernism of some kind.
Gosha then places this character in the middle of a plot that resembles the narrative complexity of Bandit vs Samurai Squad. It is interesting then to note how Tanigawa's plot progresses and climaxes, revealing the genre ground Hunter occupies in the process. Gosha with-helds information about Tanigawa's past for as long as possible, revealing bits and pieces of visual clues in the form of short flashbacks other characters experience. Tanigawa himself seems content with his existence, not preoccupied with questions of identity and past.
His past is revealed to him by a Buddhist priest along with the very important mission he has to undertake - to restore the Kitamae clan to power. After a short fight the temple where the revelation takes place bursts in flames and it is there that Gosha creates perhaps the most visually arresting images in the film. The scene combines metaphysical iconography, visions of some kind of hell on earth with Tanigawa staggering through the flames and slashing at the air with his sword as he copes with his returning memory.
The important difference however that shatters typical genre expectations is that Tanigawa then refuses to take action. It's not that he doesn't find the cause noble - restoring the unfairly abolished and persecuted Kitamae clan. But "it's not his cause". After the gradually more and more violent protagonists in chambaras of the early 70's, Tanigawa regresses back to the worldview of Yojimbo: "a long life eating mush is best". It is through this genre anachronism that Gosha's sense of irony shines through. Taking it one step further, the defaced ronin finds no glory in death either as he dies a meaningless death in the hands of a yakuza woman.
With Tanigawa out of the picture, the mandatory catharsis of the final duel falls on the shoulders of Gomyo (Tatsuya Nakadai), the yakuza boss whom Tanigawa worked for. The final irony Gosha orchestrates for our eyes is that it is a yakuza who challenges Samon Shimoguni (Sonny Chiba in a villainous role that personifies the political corruption of the Tokugawa Shogunate). Yakuzas belonged in the 'non-human' caste in the Tokugawa social system - along with gravediggers, prostitutes, beggars, tanners etc.
The narrative is thick and heavy but that is the main plot line as I see it. I hope what I wrote above about the central motifs will make reading into the film a little easier and maybe a little more rewarding too. Subplots include the scheming between rival yakuza bosses in the Edo area (it's what provides the starting point of the movie), Tanigawa and his past, Samon Shimoguni's plot to eliminate the remainders of the Kitamae clan so he can seize their land, betrayal and revenge.
Beneath everything however lies Gosha's play on identity and an almost post-modern examination of chambara characteristics. He wisely goes with the flow of the times that saw Japanese period films incorporating more and more exploitation elements - there's both bloodshed in the swordfights and tasteful nudity. It's not an easy watch -nor is it recommended- to beginners of both chambara and Asian cinema, but it's well worth the time for the aficionado.
Yataro Tanigawa for one, the one-eyed ronin with exceptional sword skills and no memory of his past, appears to be a reinvention of the Tange Sazen character (another one-eyed swordsman with identity issues) Hideo Gosha directed in his Tange Sazen - The Secret of the Urn in 1966. By casting Tanigawa from the same mold of 60's serialized alienated ronins like Zatoichi or Tange Sazen, the director seems to be invoking the pulpy past of samurai cinema. By 1979, well past the genre's heyday, this is already post-modernism of some kind.
Gosha then places this character in the middle of a plot that resembles the narrative complexity of Bandit vs Samurai Squad. It is interesting then to note how Tanigawa's plot progresses and climaxes, revealing the genre ground Hunter occupies in the process. Gosha with-helds information about Tanigawa's past for as long as possible, revealing bits and pieces of visual clues in the form of short flashbacks other characters experience. Tanigawa himself seems content with his existence, not preoccupied with questions of identity and past.
His past is revealed to him by a Buddhist priest along with the very important mission he has to undertake - to restore the Kitamae clan to power. After a short fight the temple where the revelation takes place bursts in flames and it is there that Gosha creates perhaps the most visually arresting images in the film. The scene combines metaphysical iconography, visions of some kind of hell on earth with Tanigawa staggering through the flames and slashing at the air with his sword as he copes with his returning memory.
The important difference however that shatters typical genre expectations is that Tanigawa then refuses to take action. It's not that he doesn't find the cause noble - restoring the unfairly abolished and persecuted Kitamae clan. But "it's not his cause". After the gradually more and more violent protagonists in chambaras of the early 70's, Tanigawa regresses back to the worldview of Yojimbo: "a long life eating mush is best". It is through this genre anachronism that Gosha's sense of irony shines through. Taking it one step further, the defaced ronin finds no glory in death either as he dies a meaningless death in the hands of a yakuza woman.
With Tanigawa out of the picture, the mandatory catharsis of the final duel falls on the shoulders of Gomyo (Tatsuya Nakadai), the yakuza boss whom Tanigawa worked for. The final irony Gosha orchestrates for our eyes is that it is a yakuza who challenges Samon Shimoguni (Sonny Chiba in a villainous role that personifies the political corruption of the Tokugawa Shogunate). Yakuzas belonged in the 'non-human' caste in the Tokugawa social system - along with gravediggers, prostitutes, beggars, tanners etc.
The narrative is thick and heavy but that is the main plot line as I see it. I hope what I wrote above about the central motifs will make reading into the film a little easier and maybe a little more rewarding too. Subplots include the scheming between rival yakuza bosses in the Edo area (it's what provides the starting point of the movie), Tanigawa and his past, Samon Shimoguni's plot to eliminate the remainders of the Kitamae clan so he can seize their land, betrayal and revenge.
Beneath everything however lies Gosha's play on identity and an almost post-modern examination of chambara characteristics. He wisely goes with the flow of the times that saw Japanese period films incorporating more and more exploitation elements - there's both bloodshed in the swordfights and tasteful nudity. It's not an easy watch -nor is it recommended- to beginners of both chambara and Asian cinema, but it's well worth the time for the aficionado.