I watched the DVD of Mibu Gishi Den last night after it was lent to me by a friend. I had never heard of it before so watched it with no idea what it was about, other than I was told it was a story about he Samurai.
Well it blew me totally away. Like many foreign movies, I struggled at first with the names of the characters, and as they were dressed similar and all had the same haircut, I had a bit of trouble working out who was who!
Nevertheless I persevered and after 30 minutes had more or less followed the plot. It certainly got easier as the film unfolded and in the end there was a tear in my eye. I won't give away the plot of the film, as others have already done this. Just to say at the end as the titles rolled there was a lump in my throat. Repeated viewings will make the movie a better experience.
This DVD is available on region 3 now and certainly well worth owning. It is a far superior Samurai film compared to The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise.
Don't pass up the chance to see this remarkable movie. The two leads are excellent actors, and though I have never heard of them before, I should imagine they are very well known in their native Japan.
Grade A.
