This film is the third of Yoji Yamada's samurai films, each a retelling of famed Japanese author Shohei Fujisawa's short stories. This time around we are given a title character (Shinnojo Miura) who is married but unhappy with his life. For one, he takes no satisfaction in his job as a food taster and wishes to open up a sword school for children. However, his dreams never come to fruition due to a sudden illness that leaves Shinnojo blind for life. The story thus follows his tribulations as he comes to terms with his condition and how it changes his relationship with others.
For a samurai story this film has very little fighting. It takes place during the Edo Period which was a time of relative peace where samurai were mostly incorporated in to society as bureaucrats and public officials. This follows along the lines of the other two films by the same director (Twilight Samurai and Hidden Blade). Unfortunately, this third entry does not measure up in terms of story and acting. The main actor, Takuya Kimura is a passable actor but he lacks the defining qualities that convincingly show the subdued emotion and stoic mannerisms of a troubled samurai. Moreover, the climactic payoff at the end falls short because it is very predictable. If given the choice to see a samurai film go with Hidden Blade first, then Twilight Samurai, and finally this one.
For a samurai story this film has very little fighting. It takes place during the Edo Period which was a time of relative peace where samurai were mostly incorporated in to society as bureaucrats and public officials. This follows along the lines of the other two films by the same director (Twilight Samurai and Hidden Blade). Unfortunately, this third entry does not measure up in terms of story and acting. The main actor, Takuya Kimura is a passable actor but he lacks the defining qualities that convincingly show the subdued emotion and stoic mannerisms of a troubled samurai. Moreover, the climactic payoff at the end falls short because it is very predictable. If given the choice to see a samurai film go with Hidden Blade first, then Twilight Samurai, and finally this one.