Review No.139: Hara-Kiri - Death of a Samurai

After a couple of almost complete stinkers it was time to try one of my LoveFilm DVDs which had been gathering dust on my shelf for a few weeks now Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai. The film is the latest from Japanese director Takashi Miike who last year helmed one of my favourite movies the bloody kung-fu epic 13 Assassins however Harai-Kiri has much more of a sedate pace though it still has a fairly violent story. The film is set in 17th century Japan and as the title would suggest it revolves around the process of Hara-Kiri the ritual suicide that samurai warriors practice and in particular it sees a poor ronin Hanshiro travel to seek the approval from the house of the feudal Lord Li which is currently run by the clinical Kageyu. Kageyu tells Hanshiro the story of how a young samurai warrior by the name of Motome came with the same request however he planned not to commit suicide but instead he hoped to get some money from his visit however the staff of the house were wise to his plan so made him finish himself off with a poorly made bamboo sword. After hearing this story Hanshiro still wants to go through with the procedure so he is taken to the sacrificial area and surrounded by guards however when Kageyu discovers that some of his guards are missing he realises something isn't right. The second chapter then starts with Hanshiro seemingly tells us his entire life-story from being a single father to a lovely daughter to struggling so much that he has to marry his daughter off. Though it was obvious from the start there is also a connection between Hanshiro and Motome although I feel that Hara-Kiri is a little bit more deep than a story of vengeance. The film instead deals with the themes of honour, power and money which are as relevant today as they were back in the 17th century.

Though nowhere near as violent nor as entertaining as 13 Assassins, Miike's latest work has a lot going for it namely the fantastic exterior shots captured by cinematographer Nobuyasu Kita. The first half hour or so in which the attempted suicide of Motome is covered in detail is fairly engaging as we learn the time of rituals involved in Hara-Kiri including specific dress and the types of swords you need for the process this segment is also fairly gruesome as it comes to the conclusion. I felt the middle section of the film, dealing with Hanshiro's life story, was rather flabby and almost lapsing into soap opera when telling the story of a father struggling to pay his debts. Thankfully there are again a lot of brilliantly shot scenes of ancient Japan as we see Motome's former career as a teacher as well as the many umbrellas that Hanshiro tries to make. The film picks itself back-up in the last twenty minutes as an epic encounter ensues between Hanshiro and all of Kageyu's men with him trying to fend them all off with a sword made only of bamboo while snow pours down all oer them. Personally I could've done with a little bit more of this type of scene, though it may well have felt like overkill, instead of the endless scenes of misery between Hanshiro and his daughter. The film's three central actors all play their parts well with Ichikawa Ebizō XI really impressing as the down-on-his-luck Hanshiro while Eita adds an innocence to Motome and Kōji Yakusho is excellent playing the dastardly Kageyu. All in all a very stylish and well-acted film with a great beginning and end it's just a shame the middle section dragged a little much for my liking but nonetheless another great entry into the Takashi Miike back catalogue.

Verdict: I was slightly disappointed with Hara Kiri - Death of a Samurai as it has a fairly baggy middle section however it is still beautifully photographed and well-acted so it gets a very high 7.5/10