My Summer With Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi (01)

Around the holiday season of last year, the renowned Criterion Collection released the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman 25 film box set as their big release for the year. If you are anything like me, then you probably have no idea who or what Zatoichi is and why it has 25 movies dedicated to it. To give you a quick summary, which the title gives away, Zatoichi is a blind masseur who is also one of the most skilled swordsman in the world. All 25 films follow the character in feudal Japan, the time of samurai and swords. What makes this character and these films special is that out of the 27 films made starring Zatoichi, he's been played by the same actor Shintaro Katsu in 25 of them, all of which are featured in this box set.

I got this box set at Christmas last year and as of late have only seen eight of he films. My goal is to watch all of the films by the end of the Summer! I'll update this series as often as I can, but I will make sure to finish this summer assignment.

To begin with, let's talk about the first film in the series, the one that started it all. This is my review of...

PLOT
During his travels, Zatoichi ends up in a small village who's local Yakuza (Mafia) gang is on the verge of war with a rival clan. He is hired by this village's Yakuza to fight for them, but tensions rise when Zatoichi unknowingly befriends the Samurai from the rival clan.


   The Tale Of Zatoichi is a very quiet film with very few action scenes. The film is more focused on the characters and the melodramatic plot lines, which I was not expecting the first time I saw the movie. In fact, what action scenes there are, they are very unimpressive with the tension coming from the situations surrounding the action rather then the action itself. Don't take this as a bad thing though, because this film's strength lies in character and slow beauty.

   What truly carries this film is Zatoichi himself. He's not your usual suave, skilled action hero; Zatoichi is clumsy, humble, and unassuming. When he first meet him, he's slowly walking along the countryside, having to take cautious and large steps. This unassuming nature makes Zatoichi all the more interesting when he see how much charisma and skill with a sword he has. This was Shintaro Katsu's first time playing the character, but already he owns it. What emotion he can't get across in his eyes (which are closed 90% of the time), he easily gets across in his face and dialogue. Katsu, and Zatoichi in turn, is just charming and instantly likeable. We like this character just 10 minutes into the film when he tricks a bunch a gamblers out of their money in a clever and funny way. Even when the situations get dire, Zatoichi knows when to make the audience smile. He's a somewhat tragic character, being a swordsman who doesn't want to kill but must in order to survive as a mercenary. The only reason he even began to train with the sword was to show smug and disrespectful people that he was more then just a sad blind man. Ichi is easy sympathize with, even when the audience knows that his blindness does little to hinder him.

   Beyond Zatoichi, the movie itself has a quiet beauty to it. Many Japanese films of this era have a similar feel, and the cinematography is only exemplified by the Blu-ray (and even DVD) transfer. While a large portion of the film takes place indoors, we still get many shots of the outside and nature itself. There's also very little use of music in the movie, with most of the soundtrack comprising of the background noise of the world. People meandering, birds chirping, life itself is the music of this film. While there is music, it only comes in to further drive to point home of many dramatic and important scenes.

  As a whole, the film is essentially a Japanese soap opera. There are many cliches, a lot of overacting, and few surprises. Many plot lines you can figure out how they end the second they begin. The only other stories I became interested in all involved the enemy village's samurai and his friendship with Ichi. The samurai is named Hirate (played by Shigeru Amachi) and he's just as sympathetic as Ichi. They also do seem like actual friends, and when that friendship is tested it does hurt a bit and gets you invested. Without this aspect, the movie would be much slower and less fun.

While a but dated and slow, The Tale of Zatoichi is a good if not great film that easily shows why this character became so popular. Shintaro Katsu is owns this role and keeps the movie entertaining throughout. The cinematography and quiet mood give the film a sense of beauty that just isn't seen today. Overall, The Tale of Zatocihi is a small, quiet, but interesting film that will make anyone excited to see the rest of series.

RATING
WALK TO

 If you would like to read my latest review, click here:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/2014/06/22-jump-street-nr-60.html
 If you want to read the next part in this series, click here: (Next Part Coming Soon!)