13 Assassins – review

Miike is Japan’s most prolific film-maker, a director who’ll turn his hand to anything, and best known in Britain for the audacious psychological thriller Audition , in which a widower discovers an ideal bride through a fake movie-casting session, only to discover she’s an insane avenger. His new film is a welcome revival of the samurai movie, a homage to Kurosawa set in 1844, after a long period of peace. The vicious Lord Naritsugu, a psychotic sadist threatening the stability of the realm, has to be destroyed, and only a team of dedicated samurai can achieve this. The elegant first half is dedicated to the selection and training of this elite group by the stately warrior Shinzaemon. The last 50 minutes is a non-stop running battle that follows when the 13 honourable assassins ambush the lord and his vast entourage, a virtual army seven times their number. It is a stunning sequence, magnificently staged, an epic encounter with little in the way of special effects, that leaves the village in tatters and just two men standing. Kinetic film-making of a high order. World cinema Period and historical Action and adventure Philip French guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 7, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.