Message from clockwood

[Anonymous]

I watched an unusual Japanese movie (on DVD) that would be appropriate to show in the classroom. The Twilight Samurai (director: Yoji Yamada; actor: Hiroyuki Sanada) is about a member of the Samurai warrior class who is married, has two daughters, and prefers to take care of his family rather than fight. All the other men make fun of him -- he goes home directly after work and doesn't go to the bars, thus they nick-name hime "Twilight."

The story takes place in the mid 1800's, so you see much of the culture and history of the period. Other Samurai tell him about the unattached samurai running loose in Edo, they talk about the end of the samurai warrior, and his leader dies which causes fighting amongst the clans for power.

On the family front, you see the normal workings of a home, the way the young show respect to their elders, the position of women in society, and the treatment of the main character's mother who is suffering from Alzheimers. And, since the main character is on a fixed income as a clerk in the clan's warehouse, you see how difficult it was to subsist during this period. It was interesting to see that everyone knew how much each worker made, and that the challenges of raising a family never change. One of my favorite "moments" was when the older sister (age 8-10) gave the 5 -year-old money and told her to go buy tofu. The village was small, everyone knew each other, and the community was evidentally safe enough to send a child to a market. Some things have changed!

There are only two brief fighting scenes, and the main character gets involved against his will. In fact, in both fights he tries to convince his combatant to walk away peacefully. The movie could have been called The Reluctant Samurai.

The movie is very well done, the acting is strong, and the main character is a appealing, moral character. I recommend this movie.
Courtney