Samurai III- Duel at Ganryu Island (1956) [Film Review]

Samurai III- Duel at Ganryu Island; or, The Final Showdown

Musashi Miyamoto returns once again in this final instalment of the Samurai Trilogy by Hiroshi Inagaki.

Release Info

Directed by: Hiroshi Inagaki Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Kōji Tsuruka Kaoru Yachigusa, Mariko Okada
Language: Japanese Original Title: Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: Kettō Ganryūjima Runtime: 104 min

Plot

After the infamous battle with the samurai clan from Kyoto, Musashi Miyamoto arrives in Edo Province and considers taking up the position of a teacher to a Shogun. Nevertheless, Sasaki Kojiro tracks down the hero and after performing a killing spree on a few local samurais, he convinces Miyamoto to take up a duel with him. Musashi agrees, but postpones the duel for another year. Later he settles in a village that is constantly raided by bandits. Eventually Otsu and Akemi find out Musashi’s whereabouts, but the time has come for the final match with Kojiro.

The best entry in the trilogy

This is basically pretty much what can be said about this sequel. Thankfully, the number of characters and side-plots has been limited and the focus was narrowed down to Miyamoto and Kojiro. In this particular sequel, we get a lot of samurai fights and action sequences, like the raid on defenceless villagers. However, for some viewers it may seem too similar to the scenes from Seven Samurai (1954). Actually, I'm inclined to think that the plot line from Kurosawa’s film was ripped off for the purposes of this motion picture. Apart from that, the twisted Musashi’s relationship with Otsu got finally(!) resolved. Was it just me or Akemi seemed emotionally unstable psychopath

 Everything in the movie is a build up leading to the final confrontation with Kojiro, which is literally awesome. Allegedly, the fight indeed occurred at Ganryu Island in 1612 and Kojiro lost by being blinded by the rising sun. Samurai III brilliantly recreates that event, but also provides an explanation for Miyamoto’s actions. Namely, Musashi felt that Sasaki Kojiro was much better samurai him and would undoubtedly defeat him. That’s why Musashi cheated out and postponed the match. A year later, during the final showdown, he used his wits rather than swordsmanship skills in order to defeat the opponent. This was due to the fact that unlike Kojiro, Musashi has found a meaning in life, which was not samurai fame but love for Otsu. In my personal opinion, his crying in the boat departing from Ganryu Island is, in fact, crying out of shame (and respect) for taking the life of such a skilled, but also untamed in his actions, samurai as Sasaki Kojiro was.

Recommendations

I recommend this movie to those who have seen both previous parts and liked them. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island is a perfect concluding chapter of the whole trilogy about the adventurous life of Musashi Miyamoto and a fine addition to the canon of chambara films. Definitely, a must-see movie.

Overall score: 9/10

Samurai II- Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) [Film Review]

Samurai II- Duel at Ichijoji Temple; or, The Way of the Warrior

Fearless Miyamoto Musashi returns in this action-packed sequel to display some proper samurai skills.

Release Info

Directed by: Hiroshi Inagaki Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Kaoru Yachigusa, Mariko Okada, Kōji Tsuruka
Language: Japanese Original Title: Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijōji no Kettō Runtime: 103 min

Plot

Three years after harsh studying in Himeji Castle, Musashi finally disembarks on a journey across Japan to gain some practical experience and complete his samurai training. The credits do not state this explicitly, but from Akemi’s account about her age at the beginning of the movie, we may infer that Musashi wondered two years throughout the country until he arrived in Kyoto. There, the samurai beats the living hell out of the apprentices of the Yoshioka School and challenges its master, Yoshioka Seijuro (Akihiko Hirata) to a duel. The master accepts but a horde of samurais show up instead of him. Meanwhile, Oko and Akemi (the vicious women from Part I) become aware of that Musashi is in town. In addition, Otsu finally tracks down her beloved and also comes to Kyoto. Additionally, old friend, Matahachi, finally reunites with his mother and tries to seek revenge on Otsu. On top of it all, a strange, and highly sophisticated, samurai called Sasaki Kojiro (Kōji Tsuruka) lurks in the shadows, desiring a duel with Musashi. How on earth our hero is going to deal with such a mess?!

The adventure continues

After reading such synopsis, you might think that the sequel is going to be the same like the Part I or even worse in terms of sappiness and soap opera undertones. Nothing could be further from the truth. I agree that too many characters were thrown into the story at once, but all their complicated dilemmas were neatly tied in together with unstoppable fighting sequences done by Musashi. This is the advantage that takes Duel at Ichijoji Temple over Musashi Miyamoto.

In addition to this, once again the viciousness of samurai clans is exposed to us. After kicking a dozen of apprentices’ asses, Musashi requests to fight with master Seijuro, yet our hero is forced to put up with more masses of samurais throughout the picture, who just can’t stand that finally there’s someone better than them in town. This state of affairs eventually leads to epic showdown at rice paddies, where Musashi fights single-handedly with the whole clan… That’s how awesome he is.

 

Of course, apart from standard love subplots exemplified by the characters of Otsu and Akemi, who fall head over heels in love with Musashi, we also get a villain who is a real deal. Sasaki Kojiro does not frig about and he is also on a quest for self-excellence, but contrary to Musashi’s humble intentions, he wants to make a name for himself in the samurai world. In other words, Sasaki is in pursuit of fame and vanity. Nevertheless, it does not stop him from perceiving Musashi as a worthy opponent and even appreciating his skill. Sasaki even helps out our hero towards the end, at the same time hoping to face him in the future. What a guy!

Recommendations

I recommend this movie to all those who have seen the first part and enjoyed it. This sequel elevates the character of Musashi Miyamoto to another level of awesomeness and a very good screenplay as well as magnificent Toshiro Mifune are the main responsible factors. All in all, Duel at Ichijoji Temple is a worthwhile continuation.

Overall score: 8/10

Dr. Akagi (1998) [Film Review]

Dr. Akagi- or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Cure Hepatitis! 

      Being a family doctor is all legs. One leg broken, he'll run on the other. Both legs broken, he'll run on his hands. Exhausted, he runs. Asleep, he runs. Even averse to running, he'll run his life away.

Release Info

Directed by: Shohei Imamura Starring: Akira Emoto, Kumiko Aso, Jacques Gamblin, Juro Kara
Language: Japanese Original Title: Kanzō Sensei Runtime: 116 min

Plot

It’s the year 1945 after the capitulation of Nazi Germany. Nevertheless, Japan is still fighting and refuses to surrender. On a small island, in the Seto Inland Sea area, Dr. Akagi (Akira Emoto) is a family doctor who is constantly on the run between his suffering patients. Due to his frequent diagnoses of hepatitis, he was nicknamed “Dr. Liver” by the local community. Nevertheless, Dr. Akagi is right with his observations and takes up a quest in order to fight off spreading epidemic on the island, while waiting for return of his son from the front. Yet, things get complicated when one day an injured prisoner of war shows up at Akagi’s place begging for help.

Saving Doctor Akagi

As direct the movie title may seem, it is does not only treat about the main hero of the picture. Rather, it is an in-depth study of village social life on an isolated island. Apart from Akagi we also get to know Tomiko (Keiko Matsuzaka) who’s running a military inn, monk Umemoto (Juro Kara) who loves to drink sake, surgeon Toriumi (Masanori Sera) who is a morphine addict, and young Sonoko (Kumiko Aso) who is an expert at promiscuity. All these peculiar individuals constitute a world completely withdrawn from the raging worldwide war. It is, in fact, an image of old Japan that undergoes an irreversible change at the very end of the film.

Dr. Akagi himself is the representative of that old order due to his profession. He is a doctor whose job is healing people. That’s why he struggles to find a cure for hepatitis, although very few people believe his claims. Perhaps, the most interesting scene of the movie is the one of a medical conference in Tokyo. There, the village world of Akagi sharply collides with uptown existence of governmental claqueurs who praise Akagi’s research, but do absolutely nothing to help him out.

Extremely engaging are also war themes who appear in the background of this picture. Apart day-to-day quarrels with military officials over the usage of glucose, Akagi impatiently awaits the arrival of his son (also a medical doctor) from Manchuria. Meanwhile, he hears a rumour that Japanese physicians might have been involved in experimenting on the Chinese people with contagious diseases (which later proved to be true). Additionally, Akagi befriends with Piet (Jacques Gamblin), a runaway POW who helps the doctor in his studies by fixing a microscope. In the final outcome of experienced war atrocities and people he encountered, Akagi realises that he cannot save the whole world and resolves the withdraw to his ordinary role of a family doctor.

Shohei Imamura provided a brilliant case study of the Japanese people during the Second World War and the movie’s anti-war message resonates more vibrantly than in, for instance, Spielberg’s memorable Empire of the Sun (1987). The film initially starts on a comedic note, but don’t get fooled. It’s a serious drama with an excellent performance of Akira Emoto in the leading role and other supporting actors. The directing is, obviously, brilliant; nevertheless, the pacing of the story may seem at times uneven. The music score is also very good, but not exceptional.

Recommendations

I safely recommend this Japanese motion picture to everyone who is not only into anti-war dramas, but also likes thought-provoking pictures with vivid characters and a great deal of symbolism. In other words, Dr. Akagi simply delivers.

Overall score: 8/10

Her Fatal Ways III (1992) [Film Review]

Her Fatal Ways 3- A Follow-up with(out) a vengeance

Inspector Shih-Nan is sent on a mission to Hong Kong once more. Can we expect also this time another string of over-the-top situations that will make us laugh so hard till our bellies get swollen? The answer to this question is, obviously, yes!

Release Info

Directed by: Alfred Cheung Starring: Carol Dodo Cheng, Anthony Wong, Alfred Cheung 
Language: Cantonese Original Title: Biao jie, ni hao ye! III zhi da ren jia dao 

Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 92 min

Plot

In this instalment, our female version of Inspector Closeau is ordered to protect a high-rank chairman from the PRC called Chien during his stay in Hong Kong. At first, the task doesn’t seem so challenging; yet, Shih-Nan (Carol Cheng) along with her nephew Sheng (Alfred Cheung) end up arriving in Taiwan instead of Hong Kong just at the beginning of their journey! But to make matters worse, bad luck for our heroes doesn’t end when they finally get to HK, because the news come about a possible assassin on the loose who is planning to kill the visiting politician. The team, with the aid of a cheerful but extremely emotional Taiwanese police officer called Chiang (Chan Chung-Yung) and a strongly overconfident HK Inspector Lu (Anthony Wong) prepares for the visit. Will Shih-Nan be able to stop the potential threat just in time, or will things get fouled up as usual?

A Blaze of Glory

I’ve got to admit that before watching this entry of “Her Fatal Ways” series I was in a lot of doubt. All in all, the level of humour has to decline somewhere in a string of comedy movies (like in case of Police Academy, for instance), but thankfully this sequel lives up to the standards set by the two previous parts and the makers did not run out of ideas.

Her Fatal Ways III is wild entertainment from the beginning to the end. Shih-Nan is as crazy as ever, still trying to prove that she knows better than others (as in her attempts of “blending in” on the locations secured for the visit or getting involved in an argument with kung-fu stuntmen on a movie set). In addition, still being a faithful follower of Mao Tse-Tung and the principles of communism leads to disastrous consequences when she has to face the Taiwanese officials. Nephew Sheng still struggles to master his ESP abilities, which again triggers off some hilarious action (like hypnotising the wrong people). Also, other characters like Chiang and Lu are downright funny and, on the whole, all of the protagonists constitute an explosive mix.

Drawbacks

Some may probably be put off by the noticeable reinvention of some of the old jokes from the last two films (Shih-Nan’s overlong speeches, Sheng’s dumbness, and sometimes confusing action) but these are still fun to watch and are, in a way, trademarks of the series; especially, karaoke singing, which in this part is without a question the best one in the whole series.

The only major disappointment I had was a rushed ending. It has to be mentioned that there was a better build up to the plot’s finale than in part 2, but the resolution of the climax failed miserably. Not only we were given an extremely quick and slightly unimpressive fight sequence with Shih-Nan, but also the moment when the grandmother of “the assassin” rushed to save the man she hated the most in her life (chairman Chien) made no sense whatsoever. Are we to think that she loved him? A pretty stupid explanation since she devoted herself to train her overweight, handicapped grandson to kill the guy. (Pardon the spoiler but the middle of the movie outwardly presents these characters as the baddies, so there’s no mystery to it at the end).

Recommendations

I recommend this movie both to the people who watched the other two parts and ones new to the series (or even new to HK movies!). The movie does not fail to entertain and I’m sure that even dead-serious viewers will be at least chuckling. All in all, this is a good comedy and a well-made sequel.

Overall score: 7/10