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Mathew Scott

Hidden Blade

Starring: Masatoshi Nagase,  Takako Matsu,  Hidetaka Yoshioka

Director:   Yoji Yamada

The film: Veteran Japanese filmmaker Yoji Yamada built his reputation on the long-running Tora-san series of films - he directed 48 of them between 1969 and  1995 - that chart the life  of a lovable tramp. He then turned his hand to  the samurai genre, believing that his fellow filmmakers had fallen into the trap of mythologising the era rather than trying to tell it like it really was.

With 2002's Twilight Samurai he stripped the legend bare, presenting the lowest cast of the warriors and the trials of their everyday life.

And along the way he produced a subtle masterpiece, sweeping his nation's version of the Oscars and winning acclaim in Hollywood with a nomination for best foreign film.

He tackles similar territory in Hidden Blade - and it's  almost as good as its predecessor.

It's the mid-19th century and the sun is setting on the shogun era and Munezo (Masatoshi Nagase) and Samon (Hidetaka Yoshioka) are best mates scraping by as the samurai's lowest caste. Munezo has eyes for pretty farmhand Kie (Takako Matsu) but his position - and her dreams of advancement - force  him to wait, and it's  through a near-tragedy that they come together. But nothing  ever comes easy in a Yamada film,  and the demands of the samurai code soon force  Munezo  to chose between the life of an aspiring warrior and the one on which his heart is set.

Yamada plays everything with such a slow, assured hand that  it's impossible not to be drawn  into the drama as it unfolds,  and not to feel for the hero and his steely, noble resolve. Munezo and Kie deserve better than the lives they find themselves with, and Yamada makes you feel for their every effort to rise above it all. He captures the beauty of Japan's Unasaka beachside domain, and plays it off against the savagery that went hand in hand with the samurais. The leading players - Nagase in particular - are never less than superb.

The extras: The second of this  two-disc edition  is only in Japanese with Chinese subtitles. Included, though, are interviews with the director, a behind-the-scenes feature, a short piece on the demise of the samurai era, and some PR footage from the various festivals in which the film competed. A copy of the original Japanese theatre poster is also included.

The verdict: A master filmmaker at the peak of his considerable powers.



Hidden Blade