When war arrives, local outcast Takezo resolves to join the army and find fame or death. Takezo is joined in this adventure by his only friend, Matahachi, who leaves his mother and fiancee in order to seize a chance for glory.
It doesn't go so well. Takezo ultimately proves a deadly warrior, but the battle is a crushing defeat and Matahachi is injured. The pair manage to flee, staying half a step ahead of the enemy, but the whole territory is soon overrun by the victors, and Takezo's tendency to solve his problems with a sword isn't likely to let him live a quiet life ...
These days it's probably pretty safe to say that the most famous Samurai film of 1954 is Seven Samurai, but it was actually this film that picked up the Oscar for foreign-language film back at the time of release. And from a technical sense, I can see why: it is certainly beautifully shot. For modern western audiences though, I suspect it might prove a rather inaccessible film. It's very deliberately paced, and characters act on motivations and cultural assumptions that are very different to those of a 21st century English-speaking person. It's also the first film in a trilogy - and was always planned as such - and it rather has the feel of being a prologue. Certainly the film ends just as it seems like Takezo, who has adopted the name Musashi Miyamoto, is finally beginning the journey toward the status he's always dreamed of.
Fortunately, I have the whole trilogy, so I'll be able to find out what happens next ...
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