Message from farmand

[Anonymous]

I recently saw Twilight Samurai,the film recommended by Professor Yamashita. It is a beautiful film that moves slowly (it is over two hours long), telling a very intelligent story about Seibei, a self-decribed "petty" samurai, who is raising two young daughters and caring for an aging, senile mother on a pittance of a salary. The story takes place at the end of the 19th century showing samurais who worked day to day as castle book keepers. In fact, very little fighting actually occurs. Seibei's life is not glamorous but he does try to live it with thoughtful integrity that sometimes makes him the butt of his co-workers' jokes. Seibei does battle with the drunkened ex-husband of a childhood friend (choosing not to kill the man) and has a climatic battle with a "one-sword" samurai who engages him in a discussion about the changing times. I understand this film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002.