As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
During a downpour, a generous ronin and his supporting wife are stranded at a country inn. The ronin comes to the attention of a lord who wants to hire him as an instructor for his men, who treat the ronin with disrespect.
A 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.
A talented but troubled Edo Period swordsman, Kanemi Sanzaemon. Three years earlier, Kanemi killed a woman, Renko, the corrupt mistress of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. Unexpectedly, ... See full summary »
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
Tetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college- educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and ... See full summary »
Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. A widower, he has charge of two daughters (whom he adores) and a senile mother; he must therefore work in the fields and accept piecework to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedences. The consequences are cruel.Written by
Eduardo Casais <casaise@acm.org>
Official submission of Japan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 76th Academy Awards in 2004. See more »
Quotes
Kayano Iguchi:
Father, If I learn to do needlework someday I can make kimonos. But what good will book learning ever do me?
Seibei Iguchi:
Well, it probably won't ever be as useful as needlework. But you know, book learning gives you the power to think. However the world might change, if you have the power to think you'll always survive somehow. That's true for boys and for girls. All right?
Kayano Iguchi:
Yes.
See more »
In the Nineteenth Century, in Unasaka, Province of Yamagata, in the Feudal Japan, the widow samurai Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada) works in the warehouse of the local Commissioner during the day and handicraftsman building cages in the night to have an income of 50 koku (meaning "a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year"). Seibei raises alone his two daughters, the five year-old Ito (Erina Hashiguchi) and the ten year-old Kayano (Miki Itô) and his senile mother (Reiko Kusamura) in a simple property, and has a debt of 20 koku due to the expensive funeral of his wife, who died of tuberculosis, imposed by her family and can not afford to have another wife. His colleagues in the warehouse pejoratively call him "The Twilight Samurai" to express his life without glory. When Seibei meets Michinojo Iinuma (Mitsuru Fukikoshi), his childhood friend tells him that his sister Tomoe Iinuma (Rie Miyazawa) has just divorced from he brutal husband Toyotarou Kouda (Ren Osugi). Seibei reencounters Tomoe, for whom he has been in love since he was a child, but Tamoe is member of a family of 400 koku and Seibei believes their difference of classes makes their marriage impossible. When Kouda challenges Iinuma to a duel, Seibei accepts to replace his old friend and needs to use his skills of swordsman again.
"Tasogare Seibei" is a masterpiece from the director and writer Yôji Yamada, who is unfortunately unknown for me. I am not sure whether other films of Yôji Yamada have been released on VHS or DVD in Brazil. The humanistic story takes place in the period of the Feudal Japan and discloses a totally different samurai, who has a heart full of love for his daughters and mother. I believe that persons like my daughter that has a deep knowledge on the rich and beautiful history of Japan will appreciate this gem much more than me, since they are aware of the social system and code of honor of this period. Nevertheless I loved this film that exposes the end of an era using many metaphors, and which is in the level of Akira Kurosawa or Yasujiro Ozu production. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "O Samurai do Entardecer" ("The Twilight Samurai")
20 of 22 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
In the Nineteenth Century, in Unasaka, Province of Yamagata, in the Feudal Japan, the widow samurai Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada) works in the warehouse of the local Commissioner during the day and handicraftsman building cages in the night to have an income of 50 koku (meaning "a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year"). Seibei raises alone his two daughters, the five year-old Ito (Erina Hashiguchi) and the ten year-old Kayano (Miki Itô) and his senile mother (Reiko Kusamura) in a simple property, and has a debt of 20 koku due to the expensive funeral of his wife, who died of tuberculosis, imposed by her family and can not afford to have another wife. His colleagues in the warehouse pejoratively call him "The Twilight Samurai" to express his life without glory. When Seibei meets Michinojo Iinuma (Mitsuru Fukikoshi), his childhood friend tells him that his sister Tomoe Iinuma (Rie Miyazawa) has just divorced from he brutal husband Toyotarou Kouda (Ren Osugi). Seibei reencounters Tomoe, for whom he has been in love since he was a child, but Tamoe is member of a family of 400 koku and Seibei believes their difference of classes makes their marriage impossible. When Kouda challenges Iinuma to a duel, Seibei accepts to replace his old friend and needs to use his skills of swordsman again.
"Tasogare Seibei" is a masterpiece from the director and writer Yôji Yamada, who is unfortunately unknown for me. I am not sure whether other films of Yôji Yamada have been released on VHS or DVD in Brazil. The humanistic story takes place in the period of the Feudal Japan and discloses a totally different samurai, who has a heart full of love for his daughters and mother. I believe that persons like my daughter that has a deep knowledge on the rich and beautiful history of Japan will appreciate this gem much more than me, since they are aware of the social system and code of honor of this period. Nevertheless I loved this film that exposes the end of an era using many metaphors, and which is in the level of Akira Kurosawa or Yasujiro Ozu production. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "O Samurai do Entardecer" ("The Twilight Samurai")