Der letzte Feldzug der Samurai (2002)
57KDer letzte Feldzug der Samurai: Directed by Yôjirô Takita. With Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata. A samurai goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family.
“This film looked really promising, but I was put off by the clichéd sentimentality (flashbacks in soft focus!) and confounding choices of tragic hero Kanichiro Yoshimura. Frequent flashbacks and flash-forwards attempt to liven up the limp plot, but donu0026#39;t do much for narrative momentum. The film drags terribly towards the end, and could have done with some more judicious editing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLast Sword really didnu0026#39;t deserve to beat Takeshi Kitanou0026#39;s fantastic Zatoichi for best film at the 2003 Japanese Academy Awards, but I canu0026#39;t begrudge the best actor nod for Kichi Nakai, who gives an amazing performance. In all, nearly worth the two and a half hours at the cinema.”
