MovieChat Forums > Zatôichi (1989) Discussion > Why did that guy try to kill him at the ...

Why did that guy try to kill him at the end?


Wasn't that the guy that drew him, then got the job as bodyguard, then found himself unable/unwilling to kill ichi? Then we see him at the very end after the folks who WOULD have paid him for killing Ichi are all dead, finally make an attempt on his life. Why?

reply

glad to see someone else ask this question. the only thing i could think of was that it was an old fashioned plot twister that the author built into the story, completely unrelated to the main plot, and tried to provide us with clues throughout the movie that it was going to happen. In the old movies, it created a tension that kept the movie tight, but it didn't work here.

"To know who rules you, find who you are not allowed to criticize." Voltaire

reply

The simple answer is that this film was the culmination of Katsu's career. most of it had been spent playing Zatoichi and he was already on his march toward death. This was his swan song. The disjointed plot basically took elements of his best/ greatest appearances in his most recognized role and wove them together for one grand finale. If you have seen all 25 films and all 100 television episodes, you'd be able to pick out which scene came from which story originally.

hope that helps

The world is not enough, but it's such a perfect place to start.

reply

Unfortunately the two answers provided don't quite make sense to me. It feels like a mystery screaming for an answer. I just simply do not get why the last guy tried to kill Zatoichi at the very end.

reply

His first words after seeing the old boat were "And you would be happy just sinking into the water". Maybe fighting and getting beat by an equal before he became that old useless boat was what he wanted. He didn't consider that other samurai his equal since he fought him kneeling.

reply