| It was with great anticipation that I dove into this first installment of
the Zatoichi saga. I have been told that Bruce Lee was a huge fan of the Blind
Swordsman, and while the humor on which Bruce based his more light-hearted
touch is absent from this particular film, it's easy to see why the series
was so appealing to him. The summary on the DVD jacket: "Practicing his trade as a masseur in a
small province, Zatoichi finds himself caught
in a turf war between rival yakuza gangs.
Aware of Zatoichi's reputation as an undefeatable
swordsman, yakuza leader Sukejoro tries to
hire him - unsuccessfully - as a mercenary.
But it's too late. The other gang leader,
Shizego, hires a warrior with an equally
fierce reputation to challenge Zatoichi.
Thus the legend of Zatoichi begins with intensely
choreographed battle scenes and an expertly
crafted story." With warring gangs, bad marriages, murder,
unwanted pregnancies, and a touch of romance,
there's a lot going on here, but I wish there
had been more delving into the yakuza "code" and
Zatoichi's motives. There are only glimpses
of what makes him tick. Then again, with
26 more films and 100 TV episodes to follow,
they probably figured they didn't have to
rush things in the first installment. And
I'm sure that teasing understatement is part
of what kept audiences coming back for more. Much has been said about Shintaro Katsu's "everyman" portrayal
of Zatoichi. A little dumpy and not-so-great-lookin',
his subtle and restrained performance proves
he is more than deserving of his legendary
status. It's refreshing to see someone without
matinee-idol looks as the leading man. And
speaking of the Everyman, you gotta love
a film in which the two sword-wielding badasses
are less than physically perfect. One's blind.
The other's severely respiratorily challenged. For all its virtues, though, I have to admit
I was a bit disappointed by the lack of action. And
you will almost never hear me say that! The pacing is
deliberate, but the ending makes it all worthwhile.
Zatoichi doesn't start hacking away until
50 minutes in. And the only real fight doesn't
occur until the end. These are my kind of
fights, though. All stillness and tension.
And when action finally does break out, it
occurs in staccato slashes. Someone's sword
is frozen as someone else is keeling over.
In contrast to the flowery movement in Hong
Kong cinema, the action here is so efficient,
if you blink, you'll miss it. These are short fights, which is probably the way
it should be. Leave 'em wanting more. And
that's exactly what we got - another 25 films
more! Click HERE to see a detailed discussion
of the whole Zatoichi series. | 