Ibun Sarutobi Sasuke

The crafty director Mashahiro Shinoda entering at Shochiko in early sixties aiming for work nearby his hero Yashirô Ozu or perhaps together, unfortunately the famous master already had his own favorite crew members, nonetheless it didn't take too long appears his first directorial debut, five years later Shinoda becomes in successful director there at own style, he manages the whole system on Shochiko studios.

In this medieval epic sets place at 17th century aftermaths the legendary Battle of Sekigahara real events carried out in old Japan split in two opposite shogunates, then both employed hundred spies in high strain period, this picture focuses in a fictional spy character Sarutobi Sasuke (Kôji Takahashi) moving around to gathering some insights, soon he finds himself tangle of strange murdering case, meanwhile a love interest by a charming dancer, later he'll be charged such murders, often chased by a white clothed warrior.

A kind slow pacing shambara picture in a noirish style, on tons of foggy ambience implied by the stubborn director against the quickly process required by the so worried Shochico's producers, needing relisting movies in industrial scale, anyway Shinoda dribbled past studio system with majesty on a fabulous entitled "Samurai Spy" by foreigner dealers.

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First watch: 2025 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.

If you're lucky enough to get a hold of the Criterion DVD, or perhaps another version with some accurate explanatory material, you will have the benefit of the brief explanatory comments in a recent taping made by the director, Masahiro Shinoda.

He felt that the era of the swashbuckling, self-serious samurai films, such as those of Kurosawa, had come to an end. He wanted to go into a new direction for samurai cinema, that of film noir. This is a political spy tale set in the early 17th century.

The fighting is very stylized, and really just serves as a physical representation of the intrigue, rather than drawing attention to itself. Kurosawa got into the game when the swordplay was rather choreographed, and made things much more realistic, with people stumbling around in the mud, tripping and slipping as they took wild swipes with their swords. Again, Shinoda wanted to go against the grain.

There are cool villains, especially Takatani, completely covered in white, including his hooded head, and he has a soft, menacing voice, too.

The hero, Sasuke, is troubled by war, and waxes philosophical on more than one occasion about the whole business of war and spying.

The music is cool with a jazzy capricious flute, very 60's cool. Shinoda talks a bit about that as well in the interview.

I did not understand the apparently new character in the very last shot, so if someone can shed some light on it, please send me a private message on here.

It has it all really... Crime, the theme of violence, an ambiguous but honest protagonist that borders cynicism (and somehow victim of circumstance), a complex plot with crosses and double-crosses, well-defined characters with sharp motives that are unclear to the viewer, moral ambiguity, expressionist low-key lighting, unbalanced frames, disruptive shots, and even an 'urban' feel (though in old Japan), voice-over and a femme fatale! Add ninja action and a political comment on cold war and its meaningless dehumanizing nature, and you get a smart, entertaining, beautiful, thought-provoking film.

Shinoda masters the visual medium to create something new, different. The viewer experiences the insecurity and anguish that good noir delivers (I guess that other reviewers could not manage this). And still there are sword-armed samurai in it!

Muddled and extremely silly samurai film marred by artsy flourishes, goofy ninja outfits, martial-arts fantasy nonsense, and a stupid ending.

On the plus side, Shinoda has a good eye for composition, the production values are quite good, and it's got a meaty role for Seiji Miyaguchi (Kyuzo from SEVEN SAMURAI).

The most potentially interesting thing about the film is its treatment of the persecution of Christians in Tokugawa Japan. Unfortunately, it treats this aspect with the same superficiality that it treats the conflict between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Toyotomi clan (and the film starts with a basic historical error: the Toyotomi clan did not lose at Sekigahara; they didn't even fight there, although the battle did result in the end of Toyotomi hegemony over Japan).

Because I am a retired history teacher and lover of Japanese films, the plot to "Samurai Spy" is something I can understand--though it wasn't easy. However, most folks who are not Japanese will really struggle understanding the context--even with the tiny prologue to explain this. To make things a bit easier to understand, I'll summarize the context where the film begins: Before the Tokugawa Era, Japan was fragmented into many different kingdoms run by many different clans. In the late 1500s, several leaders of the Tokugawa clan schemed to gain power by forging alliances and fighting battles against the various other clans in Japan. Eventually, Ieyasu defeated the final holdout clans in 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara and he became the first Shogun--the de facto leader of Japan (despite there still being an Emperor). However, a few years later, the Sanada clan tried, in a last gasp effort, to defy the power of the Tokugawa clan and was crushed in a final epic battle. Just following this battle is when this film begins.

Sasuke and Noriji both meet and are soon set upon by agents of the Tokugawa who try to kill Noriji. You assume Sasuke is working with the Sanada clan because he helps Noriji--though who is working with whom is difficult to determine--especially since Noriji is a man who will work for whoever pays him most. A bit later, Noriji is killed--presumably by the guy in white (whose headdress looks a bit like bunny ears). And, for the rest of the film, one guy after another tries to kill Sasuke--and folks around him start dropping like flies. Who is working for whom and what is all this about? See the film and find out for yourself.

I'll be honest. This was a very well made film and the action sequences, when they occurred, were very nicely done. However, the film is also VERY, VERY talky. Not a bad film but one that isn't as memorable as many of the other films I've seen about this time period.