After the Flowers (2010) User Reviews

Another Excellent Samurai Saga by Shuhei Fujisawa

[ebiros2 · 8/10 · 24 August 2011]

Hana no Ato takes on the form of a story told by Ito in her advanced age to her grand children about episode she had when she was a young woman.

Ito (Keiko Kitagawa) is a young girl who is betrothed to Saisuke ( Masahiro Komoto). She's also a master swordsman who no one could beat. Magoshiro (Shuntaro Miyao) is head swordsman at a Haga kendo school. Just the other day, Ito challenged the students at Haga kendo school and defeated everyone there. Magoshiro was not present at the time, but he meets Ito at a cherry blossom festival in the castle. Upon meeting her, he requests to have a match with her. Ito eagerly accepts his request. Few days later Magoshiro comes to Ito's house for the match. They fight at the inner yard. Magoshiro bests Ito, and Ito is smitten by Magoshito's attitude of not treating her as a mere girl. From there Ito falls in love, but Ito is already engaged to Saisuke. Also Magoshiro is of low stature within the clan. Ito is from an upper class family, and they don't match. Few month later Magoshiro is forced to commit seppuku due to treachery of Kageiyu Fujii (Kamejiro Ichikawa). Ito learns about the truth behind Magoshiro's death from Saisuke, and decides to avenge his death by challenging Kageiyu to a duel.

The story is based on a short novel by Shuhei Fujisawa. Fujisawa has few other excellent samurai sagas such as Hisshiken Torisashi, Bushi no Ichibun, and Kakushiken Oni no Tsume all of which became excellent samurai movies. His signature style is mixture of human drama with unusual skills each of the main character possesses. The story in this movie is no exception.

Hana no ato is an excellent drama and is recommended for viewing along with other movies based on Fujisawa's novels.

An Excellent Period Piece

[ebossert · 8/10 · 3 April 2010]

Viewed at Namba Parks Cinema in Osaka, Japan.

It's a rarity when I'm given the opportunity to write the first IMDb review of a recent theatrically released film. Such is the case here as I was vacationing in Japan and decided to take in a movie. Since I don't speak Japanese, I based my selection off of the poster art alone. "Hana No Ato" (aka "After the Flowers") was the film that looked most worthy of consideration, so I gave it a shot and it turned out to be a thrilling period piece.

The storyline, from what I gather, concerns a woman (named Ito) who trains in swordfighting with her father. Ito at one point challenges a samurai acquaintance to a friendly, competitive duel involving bamboo sticks which ignites an attraction between the two. Subsequent to this event, a few conflicts involving honor and justice are introduced that drive the rest of the proceedings.

The most apparent observation regarding "Hana No Ato" is that it feels very similar to Yoji Yamada's samurai trilogy – "Twilight Samurai" (2002), "The Hidden Blade" (2004), and "Love and Honor" (2006). So much so, in fact, that I was actually surprised to find out that Yamada did not direct this. The similarities, however, are no coincidence. The screenplay was adapted by a short story written by the late Shuhei Fujisawa, whose writings were the basis for Yamada's trilogy. "Hana No Ato" has a comparable focus on character/conflict development to effectively build anticipation for a final confrontation.

The storyline is a familiar premise, but the execution is so strong that it will almost surely impress fans of this genre. There is one training duel and one swordfight, both of which are excellent as they employ realism and proficient choreography. Acting is restrained with emotion expressed through slight mannerisms, and Keiko Kitagawa is entirely convincing as the lead. The cinematography and capturing of natural environments are also fantastic.

It's important to note that I was definitely not in the mood for this type of film when I sat down to watch it, yet it captivated me nonetheless. I plan to purchase it on DVD as soon as it's available.

A samurai love story that can reach out to most modern audiences without taking away from the old school samurai movie feel

[KineticSeoul · 8/10 · 28 December 2012]

This is a love story that can reach out to more modern audiences. While not taking away too much from the old school samurai movie feel. Kinda like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" when it comes to westerns. Some say this movie kinda reminds them of the samurai movies directed by Yôji Yamada which is understandable. Since the story came from Shûhei Fujisawa and is the main source when it comes to the story for Yôji Yamada. The cinematography in this is a bit different since it's more clean and doesn't feel a bit dusty like Yôji Yamada. Although Yôji Yamada brings out the more old school samurai movie feels and goes in a more realistic direction. The music also feels a bit more modern. So the story is about Ito(Keiko Kitagawa) who has very good swordsmanship and no man could beat her in a duel. But no man take her seriously in a duel because she is a woman. Until the day Magoshiro(Shuntaro Miyao) who is the best swordsman in another school challenges her to a friendly duel. And she ends up falling for him because he doesn't look at her as just a mere woman but shows her respect in the duel. And probably because he is more handsome and cool compared to the person she is arranged to marry. His name is Saisuke(Masahiro Komoto) who eats and constantly smiles a lot but far from being a handsome samurai. But when Magoshiro is framed and commits seppuku, Ito decides to take revenge for him although their relationship is mere acquaintance. I guess like how in movies men falls for a woman's beauty at first sight it goes the other way around. So when Ito asks Saisuke for a favor to find out who is responsible, Saisuke volunteers to help and most of the story is the investigation part of it after the framing part. To be honest though although sometimes I like philosophical aspects to a movie this seemed to drag because of it. The constant philosophical talk about swords and samurais didn't go in a direction that peeked my interest and just wanted to get to the core of the story. Also when Saisuke went on about the Bushido code it didn't make much sense either. Since when it came to this movie had to do with keeping a corrupt person as the head guy to run things. Which means he might do even worse things to innocent people. Anyways that is just my thought. Overall this is a delightful and yet gripping love at first sight kinda story that is well written. It's a samurai movie that for the most part isn't dry and entertaining to watch even if it's slow at times.

8/10