LogFAQs > #981728483

Inviso:

This movie was right up my alley in terms of hitting (and perhaps inspiring, given its age) a lot of the storyline beats that are always going to get me onboard with a samurai or kung-fu style movie. But yeah, I really enjoyed the story structure here. You start out with all this discussion of honor and samurai ideals from the Iyi Clan, which leads back to the samurai code and hara-kiri (ritualistic suicide). Apparently, a former samurai earnestly went to clan leader in the wake of his clan being destroyed and disbanded, in the hopes that this new clan leader would allow him the honor of providing a space for him to commit hara-kiri. This passion and honor was so impressive the ronin was offered a position within this new clans ranks. However, word of this story spread, and suddenly all sorts of grifters started doing the same thing in an effort to make a quick buck.

This brings us to the start of the story. A ronin named Hanshiro arrives at the Iyi Clan to ask for the right of hara-kiri himself, and they in turn tell him the story of Motomean alleged grifter who came asking for the same thing. However, he arrived wielding a pair of bamboo swords, leading the clan to believe he was clearly full of shit, and they needed to make an example of him. As he begged and pleaded, not for his life necessarily, but rather for a few days delay, they forced him to kill himself with a dulled bamboo blade, effectively prolonging his suffering. All the while, Motome is treated like a joke and a cautionary tale by all involved. Despite hearing this, Hanshiro calmly maintains his resolve to commit hara-kiri, and so the clan moves along with the plan.

Heres where things start to get interesting though. Up until this point, Hanshiro has been a cool, stoic badass, yet in the moment where hes being prepped to go through the ritual, he pauses and asks if hes allowed to choose his second. The name he gives is the man who, previously in the story, oversaw Motomes painful hara-kiri attempt. Yet Hikokuro is nowhere to be found, having effectively called in sick. Hanshiro really had his sights set on Hikokuro decapitating him though, so hes willing to wait while the clan attempts to fetch him. This gives him a chance to tell a story of his own while they wait; you seeHanshiro actually KNEW Motome. Hanshiro was Motomes guardian and father-in-law.

Suddenly, where the Iyi Clan told Motomes story as a cowardly grifter, Hanshiro provides an alternative viewpoint. Motome was a devoted husband and father, yet he fell upon hard times and when both his son and his wife got sick, he had no money with which to help them. So perhaps yes, he was trying to grift the Iyi Clan out of desperationand Hanshiro cannot exactly call this honorable. But at the same time, the level of disdain the Iyi Clan showed Motome was despicable, and all he wanted to do was inform his family before he was forced to kill himself. Instead, his body was hauled in and mocked in front of his loved ones.

Again, this plot has been fascinating thus far, and you KNOW Hanshiro has more up his sleeve, because hes been calm and poised, and on a mission the entire time. And when the clan fails to produce two MORE swordsman at Hanshiros requestthats when he makes his big reveal. It turns outhe already found Hikokuro, Hayato, and Umenosukeand he bested them in combat before cutting their hair and disgracing them as swordsmen. Thats why they arent at the clan base; theyre ashamed and unwilling to acknowledge their dishonor. Having broken the faade of honor that the Iyi Clan bandied about as their justification for torturing Motome, Hanshiro then goes full Rambo, grabbing a sword and fighting his way through a horde of samurai before hes finally felled. In his last moments (before the clan shoots him down with guns, rather than honorably besting him with swords), he commits his hara-kiri, getting the last laugh.

I just found the plot very tight, and Hanshiros character as the quiet, storyteller who knows more than hes letting on was very well-done in my eyes. I love the shift from the Iyi Clan holding themselves up as a beacon of samurai honor, only for their own members to cower and prove that theyre not honorable at all. Even after Hanshiros rampage endsthe clan simply covers up what happened, rather than admit that a single ronin was able to defeat so many of their number. Sure, the trio of swordsmen Hanshiro beat have to kill themselves (and only Hikokuro had the honor to do so of his own accord), but at the end of the day, the Iyi Clan can paper over their flaws. But we know. The viewers know who had true honor and who was the best of the best when it came to facing down that lone ronin.

Seginus:

A masterfully wound samurai tragedy that slowly ratchets up the tension to a boiling point before finally exploding into action. The flashback framing device sees the entire movie play out in anticipation of a showdown, and when the revenge story finally switches to present tense it comes with fist-pumping momentum, though we know there can be no happy ending.

Period pieces were often a way for Japanese filmmakers to include contemporary political/social commentary in the post-war climate of censorship. In Harakiri, the plight of the ronin shortly into the Edo period is a clear stand-in for the economic despair of a freshly unemployed military class following Japans post-WWII demilitarization. Its no coincidence the first ronin we see comes from a defeated Hiroshima. In this light, the suicidal ideations are stripped of the romantic veneer of old-world ritual dignity and speak to a more post-modern sense of desperation and devastation.

The drama is elevated by the aesthetic, high contrast and deep focus keep everything looking sharp and bold, infrequency of motion springloads every action. The iconic fight with the third retainer is as effective as it is because its prefaced by so much stillness in the square of the courtyard, and suddenly we get hit with turbulent wind, grassy hills, clouds racing. It comes with a mystical quality. And of course the sequence where the ronin makes his last stand and finally claims the suit of armor is an excellent dark ending. This is the first time I saw this one and I loved it.

Karo:

A disgraced samurai makes a request of a noble family to use their manor grounds for a bout of stomach stabby time, but there is more than meets the eyes.
He is here for vengeance against the clan who cruelly forced his adopted son to die by seppuku, and there is this incredible feeling of tension between the ronin and the clan official as he deftly maneuvers into a position to strike a devastating blow to the Iyi clan's supposed honor.
The director's contempt for ritual suicide and samurai traditions in general is on full display, all are shown as empty and vapid practices that are only adhered to when you feel like it, and pale in comparison to protecting those who we hold dear.
The hypocrisy and virtue signaling of those who profess honor is something that transcends time and culture, and the fact that this film can speak to a modern american audience as well is a mark of a true masterpiece.