Hara-Kiri: mort d'un samourai (2011)

An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Kikumi Yamagishi (screenplay), Yasuhiko Takiguchi (novel)

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Kageyu
Munetaka Aoki	...	Hikokuro Omodaka
Naoto Takenaka	...	Tajiri
Hikari Mitsushima	...	Miho
Eita	...	Motome Chijiiwa
Ebizô Ichikawa	...	Hanshirô Tsugumo
Hirofumi Arai	...	Hayatonosho Matsuzaki
Kazuki Namioka	...	Umanosuke Kawabe
Takashi Sasano	...	Sousuke
Ayumu Saitô
Goro Daimon	...	Priest
Takehiro Hira	...	Naotaka Ii
Baijaku Nakamura	...	Jinnai Chijiiwa
Yoshihisa Amano	...	Sasaki
Ippei Takahashi

Storyline

An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | revenge | sword | jidai geki | 3 dimensional | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan UK

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 July 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hara-Kiri: mort d'un samourai

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,920 (USA) (20 July 2012)

Gross:

$60,201 (USA) (31 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Sedic International, Amuse Soft Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (3D Stereoscopic)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first 3D title ever to be shown in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

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Goofs

As the wooden wakizashi is pushed into the stomach (after the tip snapped off), you can see that the blade is sliding into the handle.

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Quotes

Motome Chijiiwa: A husband must provide for his wife and child.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2011 (2011)

User Reviews

Subtle, mature, sometimes excruciating drama

HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI is Takashi Miike's follow-up to the crowd-pleasing, SEVEN SAMURAI-alike, 13 ASSASSINS. This film is a whole different kettle of fish entirely and it's almost as if Miike went deliberately out of his way to make an anti-13 ASSASSINS; there's no action here, none of the wonderfully choreographed fight scenes that made his previous film such a smash.

Instead, HARA-KIRI is an intense and emotional drama that explores notions of honour, familial ties and duty, packaging it in such a way that makes it a unique movie. As with most Miike, it's a sometimes obscure, often unwieldy production, deliberately going out of its way to be as slow-paced as possible and letting the story unfold in real time. Flashbacks are used extensively and those looking for an explosive, revenge-fuelled drama would do well to seek elsewhere as this isn't satisfying in that way at all.

Instead, it's a unique beast. The first 30 minutes is completely horrifying, a grisly ordeal that nearly manages to outdo PASSION OF THE Christ in its depiction of on screen suffering and pain. The rest of the film is a slow burner, although it does build up to an effective climax of sorts. The actors are well accomplished, with the excellent Ebizo Ichikawa holding the fort for much of the time. Needless to say, the level of technical proficiency is high and the film as a whole is expertly made; the intense drama of the characters' ordeals makes it one of Miike's most mature works yet.