The Twilight Samurai
I don’t recall how I heard about The Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei, たそがれ清兵衛). I suppose I was just browsing around on Netflix or IMDB and it showed up as a highly rated Japanese film. In any event, I recently watched it and loved it. If you are watching it to practice your Japanese you may be a bit disappointed in that regard as the language is rather difficult and dated since the setting is that of about 150 years ago.
The story is wonderful, however, as is the acting. Perhaps the best thing is the scenery. The viewer is taken back to the day and made to feel as if they are really there in the late Edo period. The sets are well done as are the nature and landscape scenes.
I don’t want to go into the story or plot line as that will ruin it for those who like to be surprised by a movie (like I do). The DVD version that I watched included an interview (in Japanese with English audio translation) with the director, Yoji Yamada. It also included an interview, completely in English, with the main actor, Hiroyuki Sanada.
Go out and get this. You won’t be disappointed. My 13-year old even enjoyed it.
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