Ichi (2008)

Ichi is a blind woman who roams about town with her shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese guitar), but she has exceptional sword skills with which she fights off yakuza and other villains.

Director:

Fumihiko Sori

Writers:

Kan Shimozawa (story and characters), Taeko Asano (screenplay)

Stars:

Haruka Ayase, Shidô Nakamura, Yôsuke Kubozuka

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Haruka Ayase	...	Ichi
Shidô Nakamura	...	Banki
Yôsuke Kubozuka	...	Toraji Shirakawa
Takao Ohsawa	...	Toma Fujihira
Gô Rijû	...	Kihachi
Mayumi Sada	...	Mitsu
Tetsuo Yamashita
Ayumu Saitô
Tôru Tezuka
Kumiko Tsuchiya
Shirô Namiki	...	Kataoka
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Blind man
Megumi Yokoyama	...	Toma's mother
Eri Watanabe	...	Ohama
Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi

Storyline

Following the footsteps of the blind masseur and swordsman Zatoichi comes Ichi, a woman and a daughter who travels the land as a 'goze' or visually impaired woman who plays the traditional three-stringed shamisen. This woman, however, has a hidden talent. She not only has the command of a lightning-fast blade, but also uses it in terms of justice and a quest for her long-lost father. Matching her skill is a man whose swordsmanship is only bested by his internal inhibition.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | japanese | blind asian | blind girl | blind | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of bloody violence, and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

25 October 2008 (Japan)

Also Known As:

I tyfli samurai

Filming Locations:

Shonai, Yamagata, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asahi Shimbun, Dentsu, Geneon Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ichi: I do not know what I cut because I am blind.

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Connections

Version of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)

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Soundtracks

Will
Lyrics by Natsumi Kobayashi
Composed by Ryosuke "Dr.R" Sakai
Arrangement by Yoichiro Kakizaki
Performed by SunMin

User Reviews

Dull and Expressionless!!

Zatoichi, the blind wandering yakuza, as played by Shintaro Katsu, is a broad and irreverent character. He is at times, funny or serious, crafty and silly, pathetic yet heroic. In fact this character tramples over the affectations and customs of the day with intelligence and glee. This finely tuned and expansive portrayal of Zatoichi by Shintaro Katsu is the main reason his numerous films and TV episodes still endure today.

Ichi (2008) is an alternative take on the blind wandering Yakuza character and Zatoichi becomes a blind wandering Goze (female blind musician).

The main problem with Ichi (2008) is that the titular character has no character. Haruka Ayase plays Ichi with only one expression, that of dead-pan emotionless. This incarnation of Ichi has no humour, pity or sympathy. The acting in general is pretty poor with scowling cackling villains complimented by dull non-expression. Apart from the action the film is shot very much like a TV movie.

The fight scenes in the original Zatoichi movies and TV episodes all had one thing in common, the suddenness and brutality of the action. Shintaro Katsu's dexterity and deftness with the sword and also the long single takes allowed the action to be seen and as a result the fights were almost always surprising. In the same way you may enjoy and marvel at a Bruce Lee fight, the same can be said of a Shintaro Katsu sword fight.

In Ichi (2008) this sudden and convincing violence is gone, to be replaced by the cinematic cliché of real-time cut to slow-motion and back again. This gimmick does not help the audience with actually seeing the action, as most of it is missed by the selected camera set-ups or the self-conscious rapid editing. The CGI blood adds nothing to make the violence more authentic.

Haruka Ayase is unconvincing in the fight scenes. She may hit her marks but there is little force behind the sword to make it believable she is cutting up men like butter. This same problem occurred with Azumi (2003) when Aya Ueto skipped through the fight scenes with ineptitude and men simply fell-over.

For the best results in female martial arts action, it is better to cast an actress with a background in dance or martial arts like or Ziyi Zhang in House of Flying Daggers (2004) or Yanin "Jeeja" Vismistananda in Chocolate (2008).

Ichi (2008) is a missed opportunity scuppered by mediocrity.