Yamada: Samurai of Ayothaya

Just because a heroic saga is based in history doesn't mean it's going to be interesting. The narrative of a severely injured Japanese warrior being healed in body and spirit by the kind and wise residents of a Thai village is slow and tedious for a Muay Thai action flick. If you're looking for lots of soothing flutes, pastoral visuals and calm voice-overs of basic moralizing, you'll find plenty. For those less patient, there's still a big payoff. There is a smattering of one-on-one training bouts that are high on style and energy. In the latter half we are treated to two mass fight sequences replete with all the swordplay and hand combat one might hope for. The penultimate battle in daylight by a river is among the most exciting, bloody, superbly choreographed of its kind in all of Asian martial arts fare, vintage and current. My rating of 6 is a split between 4 for the excessive amount of calm setup, and 9 for the too-sparse, yet glorious, action.

This is a beautifully shot film based on the legend of Nagamasa Yamada who was a Japanese Samurai that decided to adopt Ayothaya as his country. The story is largely fictitious, as historic life of Nagamasa is not well known. Japanese actor Seigi Oozeki who moved to Thailand in 2003, and a Thai actor Buakhao Paw Pramuk who's a real life K1 boxer plays the two leads in this movie. Beautiful Thai actress Kanokkorn Jaicheun plays the role of the girl who nurses Nagamasa back to health.

The story takes place in the early 17th century. Back then, Ayuthaya region had a small but solid Japanese community consisting of about 1500 people. Many were of Samurai origin who lost their lord in Japan due to battle, and couldn't find employment in their native country. These Samurais were hired as soldiers by the Ayothaya who found Portuguese ( that also had their own town near by ) to be unreliable soldiers due to various reasons. Ayothaya at the time was being invaded by Burmese Toungoo Dynasty, and Spanish navy, so they needed soldiers. There were also trade between Ayothaya, and the Japanese, and many Japanese swords were imported into the region as hinted in this movie.

In this movie, Nagamasa Yamada ( Seigi Oozeki ) was one of the soldiers working for king of Ayothaya with his fellow Japanese. There are sect of villains that are attacking the people of Ayothaya. They are supposed to be Burmese soldiers, but upon killing them he finds out that they are Japanese disguised as Burmese. Nagamasa also finds out that his lieutenant commander is the leader of this criminal group. He gets ambushed, and nearly gets killed, but Ayothaya warriors shows up and saves his life. People of Ayothaya nurses him back to health, and Nagamasa learns the fighting skills of Ayothaya. He has a score to settle, but he's also a marked man because he's seen the face of the culprit who's spreading terror amongst the people.

The movie states that it's a commemoration of 124 years of relation between the country of Thailand, and Japan, but is also an excellent action movie. If you've seen Ong Bak 2 and 3, you know what I mean. Quality of Thai movies in recent years has skyrocketed, and this movie is of high quality that sports good acting, and beautiful production.

The English translation of this movie wasn't entirely accurate. At parts, Nagamasa is saying something that's totally different from the subtitle. So the cultural element of his love for the country may not have been conveyed properly. It's a story about one man who got accepted into the society, and found it deeply touched his person. Many people points the story's similarity with Tom Cruise's "The Last Samurai" but I didn't find this to be the case. The movie had mood all its own. First of all, Nagamasa is not troubled in any ways about his past. He never found himself to be "captured" by total strangers, and he found friendship with local people immediately.

If you like the new generation of Thai action films, this movie should appeal to you, but it's also a beautiful story of a man who's life was transformed by the culture of the country. It's a great movie with great action, and is recommended for viewing.

YAMADA, WAY OF THE SAMURAI is another historical Thai martial arts flick along the lines of BANG RAJAN, although it's a far cry from the quality of that movie. This is a low-budget misfire that purports the tell the true story of a Japanese samurai warrior who finds himself fighting on the side of the Thais against some evil oppressors and assassins.

The story's okay but the execution isn't. For an action film, YAMADA, WAY OF THE SAMURAI is remarkably short on fight scenes. There are a few scenes of training and the like, but the action is limited to only one battle scene and the final fight. While the hard-hitting choreography is acceptable, too much of the fighting is hidden behind poor added effects; silly slow-motion to emphasis the hits early on, and rubbishy CGI sword thrusts and spraying blood later. It hardly makes for a realistic viewing experience.

The script is minimalist and the characters largely one-dimensional. Seigi Ozeki has zero screen presence as the lead and his character is largely a bore. The Thai actors fare better, but the kind of elbow-slamming action you'd expect from a Thai martial arts flick is in short supply. Instead we get a predictable story and a dull narrative lacking in genuine incident.

A thin plot strings together a series of martial-arts displays.

The boxing looks realistic, I assume this is real Thai Boxing as it actually occurs. But the sword-fighting is improbably one-sides.

A brief depiction of a border war is ridiculous.

The highly interesting politics of the time is entirely ignored. Both the internal conflicts and the role of the Dutch are wholly ignored. It was a kingdom that often had civil wars and which was finally destroyed by the Burmese.

The Japanese settlement was also interesting, including both Christian rebels and some of the losers from the wars which established the Tokugawa shoguns. All ignored.

The real life of Yamada Nagamasa would make an excellent film, but this is not it.

The show is based on a real person Yamada Nagamasa. He was a Japanese samurai who has lost his Lord and has therefore signed on to be a mercenary in Thailand during the Ayothaya era. At first he stays in the Japanese camp with the other Mercenaries. There is a plot to build unrest in the countryside and his group is responsible for stopping it. He learns that it is some Japanese that are behind the unrest. For this knowledge he is almost killed, but saved by some Thai warriors and taken back to their village. There he finds the purpose that he's lacking.

There are some flaws in the movie, some of the dialog is a bit childish. There is a bit of our martial arts is the best martial arts. However that is not the purpose of the movie. The movie is to show how this person of Japanese decent became a citizen of Thailand and ended up making this his home until he died there in 1633.