Trailers
Description
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Starring
Awards
Key opinion
Nagisa Oshima's final film is widely praised for its striking visual beauty and atmospheric reflection of the late Edo period, yet it remains polarizing due to its opaque narrative and symbolic complexity. While many viewers are mesmerized by its poetic exploration of repressed samurai desire, others find the character motivations and plot developments intentionally cryptic to the point of frustration.
| Production | The film features stunning, meticulous production design and cinematography that effectively capture the melancholic beauty of the dying samurai era. | |
| Screenplay | The narrative prioritizes elusive symbolism and atmospheric allegory over conventional plot structure, leaving many viewers confused about character motives. | |
| Acting | Opinions on Ryuhei Matsuda's portrayal of Kano are split: some see a masterful embodiment of demonic, icy beauty, while others perceive a lack of expressive, wooden acting. | |
| Theme | The exploration of same-sex desire within the Shinsengumi is presented as a fatalistic, destructive force rather than a mere romantic subplot. | |
| Direction | The director's refusal to provide definitive explanations for the plot or the protagonist's nature leaves the film feeling either profound or disjointed depending on the viewer's patience for ambiguity. |