Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

GazerRise Fantastic!

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Milo Milosovic I was drawn to this 2003 Japanese film for a variety of reasons. a) it's director Yôjirô Takita was responsible for one of my favourite films in recent years, Departures (Okuribito) b) It's been mentioned in the same breath as the quite stupendous "Twilight Samurai" (Tasogare Seibei) and c) I'm just a sucker for 19th Century end of the Shogunate/ Rise of the Emperor guff.All the ingredients are there in the set-up Yoshimura is a lower class Samurai who is struggling to support his wife and children. He abandons them in search of higher pay to support them and joins the notorious Shinsengumi clan. All the usual themes are here. The nature of honour; the conflict between family loyalty and clan loyalty; the passing of an era.Unfortunately the film is hamstrung by a number of problems. Firstly, there is a level of sentimentality which teeters into the mawkish at times. Secondly, the narrative is framed by a dual character flash-backs which are unconvincing, confusing and jarring. Thirdly, whilst the two lead characters are deliberately set as opposites the performances of the two leads teeter into the realms of Samurai TV soap pastiche. Indeed when you compare them to the Hiroyuki Sanada's poised and subtle performance in the melancholic and restrained Twilight Samurai they fall-down badly.Having said all that it's entertaining enough. Has some solid set-pieces and a suitably authentic feel. But that's just not enough. Ultimately, it's a major disappointment. The poster's great though.

Ethan Race Now as a big fan of Japanese cinema I wanted to acquaint myself more closely with the modern Jidaigeki (samurai period drama), I watched the 'Hidden Blade' and thought that was remarkably good, the 'Twilight Samurai' was also quite good, and I saw this film and I thought I would give it a try.I was expecting something Japanese... not a Hollywood film dressed in samurai clothing, this film is God awfully sentimental in the true Hollywood sense of the word. It seriously didn't seem like I was watching a Japanese film, Japan whose greatest characteristics of cinema are dignity, reserve and minimalism. Even in the most mainstream of Japan's modern films they never fall into real cringe-making melodrama, like this film does. Even other modern Jidaigeki's that have obviously been influenced by American cinema such as 'Azuma' could be said to me more 'involving'.The directing is tiresome, the characters are utterly unconvincing and the film overall could have been half the length, it verges on serious tedium. It pains to me to say such things about any Japanese film, but I don't want anyone to fall into the trap of embarking on this film, and then having to stick all the way through it.Sorry again, but its 4 out of 10 at the most.

siderite This was a beautiful movie, yet a difficult one to watch. The main character, played very well by Kiichi Nakai, is a man of the land. He loves his country and his family and he is also a samurai. That puts him into a very uncomfortable position when money is too scarce for his family to be able to survive. He then does the dishonorable thing, he leaves the clan in order to earn money for his family.The story in itself is the message of the movie, with all its details, not the main storyline. The action is placed in the time when samurai are being replaced with gun powder and Japan is in great turmoil. In the end, he returns to his homeland and restores honor to his family, so it's a circular kind of tale, but in the meanwhile, you see how different people, in different situations and social classes, react, how friendships are made and unmade.What makes this movie better than most is the way the main character is constructed. He is far from the cliché of the samurai, a lot more human. If this could have been told in a shorter way, everyone would have been happier, though. While the last scenes are heartbreaking, they are also too theatrical for my taste.I have seen Twilight Samurai compared with this movie. I do think that TS was better, but this is still a very good movie.

jory-nori-1 This picture was nice and refreshing. I'm always searching for a samurai movie with a budget, that wasn't shot with a digital camera (like all of the t.v. dramas) and that has nice swordplay. I found one. Like most Japanese movies, an American viewer tends to think they must be watching the director's cut but it's definitely worth the watch. I'm not sure who (or even if) I'm supposed to be rooting for. The Shinsengumi is mostly romanticized in Japan but this picture shows them doing what they did. House raids, executions, etc. all in the name of the shogun. If you enjoyed the type of movie that The Last Samurai aspired (and in some instances was successful) to be, then I recommend this movie to you.