The best
i thought this was the best Zatoichi movie.
shareSame here
shareNo. No. No. No. No.
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MovieChat Forums > Zatôichi (1989) Discussion > The best
yup, definately
shareBest? Nope, not by a long shot. It was too drawn out meandering and boring...and I say that as an M. Night fan, Kiyoshi 'Kairo' Kurosawa fan and original Wicker Man fan who is used to slow pacing in films. The final 30min or so and its battle scenes saved this film. It's shot and acted nicely but convoluted as can be.
I've seen Zatoichi 1-13,15,17-19 and 26 (still need the unreleased #14 and the AnimEigo box 16,20-25 plus the 100 ep tv series). Aside from the end and its great set-piece work, I'd have to put this at the lower end of the spectrum for narrative/plot. I also wasn't too big on Z#19 and its tendency to go beyond comic relief to become almost a parody where I half expected Leslie Neilsen to take over for Shintaro Katsu.
Z#15 (Cane Sword) was probably among my favorites.
if you're an M. Night fan, I'm not surprised that you don't have much appreciation for the subtle approach in this film- especially since you seem to be favoring his later works. Shamalayan's movies have become increasingly structurally based, ignoring the strengths of his earlier characterizations and symbolic innuendos.
This film wasn't made to continue the legacy of Zatoichi. It was made to give it closure, and I think it does a fantastic job of doing so. Instead of approaching the film from its original entertainment value roots, Katsu focused on Ichi's more encompassing themes: friendship even over enemy "lines", guilt, innocence, justice, vengeance, and- most prominent of all- the loneliness instilled by vagrance.
By doing so, his film gave strong closure to Ichi's life, giving insight into Ichi's own mind instead of feeding the audience.
As far as convoluted goes, I think it's pretty straightforward. If you're not a big fan of subtle characterization, I don't think you got the real deal out of any of this series. The best parts of the entire series pertained to the relationships and reactions of the characters- not the action.
I think the line "The falling leaf does hate the wind" sums up the theme of Zatoichi well.
I loved this picture. I was going to write a rebuttal to Pan and Scan's appraisal of the film, but having read Nyumetsu's, there is really little else to say. This was a satisfying end to a wonderful series of movies, my only regret is that Shintaro Katsu didn't direct more features.
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