A dilemma's horns are always sharp

[rachelmanija]

So, should I train tonight, or I should I take advantage of this:

"ZATOICHI"
> Dir: Takeshi Kitano (Japan, 2003, 116 min)
> Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa, Michiyo Ookusu,
> Gadarukanaru Taka
>
> *Winner of 5 Awards of the Japanese Academy.
> *Winner of the People's Choice Award at the 2003 Toronto International
> Film Festival.
> *Winner of the Audience Award and the Special Director's Award at the 2003
> Venice Film Festival.
>
> Director Takeshi Kitano takes on Japanese cinematic legend Zatoichi.
> Kitano stars as the blind wanderer with a distinctive red cane and a shock
> of platinum blond hair. Softly-spoken, he makes a living as a masseur and
> by gambling, but his humble, shuffling facade masks a a lightening-fast,
> deadly swordsman. When Zatoichi enters a remote mountain town he discovers
> that the Ginzo gang are extorting the townsfolk with the aid of a mighty
> samurai ronin, Hattori. Quickly making friends with talkative fellow
> gambler Shinkichi, Zatoichi then meets two mysterious geishas who have
> sworn to avenge their parent's deaths. As the Ginzo gang tighten their
> hold on the town, the stage is set for a violent and bloody confrontation.
>
> This screening is FREE and open to the public and takes place at the James
> Bridges Theater on the UCLA campus.

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

That depends. When are you taking your black belt test?

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Too late. I went to see ZATOICHI. ;)

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

That would have been my pick! How was it? Inquiring minds want to know!!!!

[gastonmonescu.livejournal.com]

I want to go see that, and somehow try not to think that it's the same guy who stars on MXC.

[tweedkitten.livejournal.com]

how was it? i've seen a couple of the zatoichi movies and i have to say they're fabulous. look for the super saver deals at expo. i almost caved in last year but didn't.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I have to run off to Santa Barbara so I can't write a full review, but it was pretty good. You guys would have enjoyed it. It was quite violent, with what I suspect was deliberately non-realistic CGI blood spraying around, and used more clever editing than long shots-- I don't think any of the people in it could actually fight with a sword (as opposed to Uma Thurman in KILL BILL, who'd obviously spent a lot of time learning how) but unlike TROY, in ZATOICHI you believed that they could.

Lots of good ensemble work, of which I particularly liked a female impersonator, a world-weary peasant woman, and a ronin bodyguard with a beautifully chiseled face that made me think of birds of prey. I had some issues with Kitano's performance-- not bad acting, but weird choices-- but he was not the main character, but one link in a chain.

There was a lot of interesting stuff done with visual and aural rhythm, like "Stomp," which led to one of those "I can't believe this is appearing on screen" moments toward the end. I kind of liked it, actually, but I think if you're going to go in that non-realistic a direction at the end, there should have been even more of that earlier. Oh, and there were a lot of funny bits. It was a very weird movie, in case you didn't get that, not quite a parody of samurai movies but edging in that direction. Very post-modern. Very...

I have to run.