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An age of change is always a difficult thing to live through.
Tradition can be a solace in times of trouble, but tradition
can also deny you the love you seek. In 19th century Japan,
tradition and modernity have clashed and the way of the Samurai
is changing forever. Two friends, Yaichiro Hazama and Munezo
Katagiri, face the uncertain future in different ways. Katagiri
stays at home and must learn the new ways of war imported
from the Europeans, whilst Hazama goes away to Edo to take
up an important post. Since the death of his father, over
some minor accounting fault, Katagiri has become increasingly
ambivalent about the traditions of the Samurai, especially
as he is denied union with the one woman he desires as Kei
is only a serving girl in his household. Events come to a
head when Katagiri rescues Kei from her merchant husband,
where she is being ill treated. Forced, once more, to give
her up he discovers that his old friend Hazama has been imprisoned
following a failed political intrigue. When he escapes, Katakiri
is ordered to hunt down and kill his old friend...
The
Hidden Blade (2004) is directed by Yoji Yamada who has
had previous success with his other Samurai tale, the multi-award
winning The Twilight Samurai (2002). As with the previous
film The Hidden Blade is adapted from the original
stories by Shuuhei Fujisawa. From the early sixties Yamada
has notched up more than ninety films. The film was well received
by critics and won an award for Best Art Direction from the
Japanese Academy and was nominated for a further eleven.
The
film is about a man coming to terms with cultural and political
changes, and whilst that may sound a little dry and uninteresting,
the film is anything but that. Whilst you couldn't class this
as an action film, there are very few sword fights; it is
an interesting exploration of one mans life. The title The
Hidden Blade refers to a conversation that Katagiri has
with Kei when he explains that a Samurai rarely shows his
blade unless he intends to fight. However, it could also stand
as a metaphor for that which Katakiri must hide in his heart
in order to follow the way of the Samurai. The whole film
is imbued with this level of understatement. The battles which
are fought are in the soul of a man trying to balance his
desire to hold on to the honourable ways of the past in the
face of the introduction of what he sees as degenerative weapons
and ideas. His killing of Chief Retainer Hori is his final
act of turning his back on a world that he realises no longer
exists.
Whilst
this might give the wrong impression of the film - there is
a lot of existential angst - the film contains some real moments
of humour, especially when the riflemen are being instructed
to march like Europeans. The absurdity of this manoeuvre is
never lost on the audience, it looks funny to us, just think
what it must look like to the Japanese.
Across
the board the realisation of the era is impressive; the repressed
desire between Katakiri and Kei will be familiar to anyone
who has watched a Victorian drama about love between the classes,
the same unspoken class restrictions which deny love is as
evident here as it is in Lady Chatterley's Lover. This
leads to a silent intensity between these two characters,
played by Masatoshi Nagase and Takako Matsu which comes across
as both sad and poignant.
Audio
on the disc comes in three flavours, Japanese stereo, 5.1
or DTS all with subtitles. To be honest whilst it's nice to
have such a choice, the film doesn't actually require much
above stereo, except to bring a little more clarification
to the score and the vocal track. There is no great action
packed scenes which would require DTS, so you should get just
as much enjoyment out of the stereo version, which remains
very clear. Visually, the film is presented in 1.85: anamorphic,
with a muted palette - which sometimes gives a washed out
look to the film.
There
are no real extras to speak of just the Original Theatrical
Trailer and a Tartan Trailer Reel. Odd really because
the sleeve that they sent along with the check disc lists
a whole slew of interesting extras, including an interview
with the director, a making of documentary and footage from
International events. It might be that the pressing sent was
an earlier version, so it will be worth checking out the finished
product to see if these things mysteriously reappear.
The
film would get a nine but with the apparent lack of extras
the overall mark drops for the DVD.
Charles
Packer
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