13 Assassins [DVD]

13 Assassins, though full of characters, is quite simple actually. A master Shogun samurai is charged with the killing of a cruel and masochistic Shogun lord before he can become more influential in the Japanese Shogunate. With this mission, he gathers together 13 samurai to join him in what appears to be a mostly suicidal mission as they take on a small army of soldiers. For years I have argued that Miike is a master filmmaker that doesn't get nearly the kind of recognition he deserves, as his experience and resume put him up with the likes of other classic filmmakers. This shows in Assassins as he brilliantly puts together this simple, yet purposeful film that calls back to the era of epic samurai films of the likes of Akira Kurosawa. In fact, the influence of Seven Samurai is quite apparent here, even going so far as to model some similar characters. However, do not be mistaken, as this is very much a Miike film, a combination of his abilities to craft a mainstream film and a cult hit.

And the trademarks are certainly there, with the sadistic young Shogun lord bearing the bizarre violent fetishes that have been displayed in Miike's more obscure works, namely Ichi the Killer. As you might suspect, the violence early on is shocking, effective, and often unexpected. This gives way later on to more stylish violence, but none the less, the film is incredibly violent, worthy of a hard R rating by American standards. Miike fans should be very pleased as he both employs his skills as a filmmaker while at the same time adhering to the general guidelines of making a samurai film. Here, he delves greatly into the genre, showing what it means to be a samurai and questioning their purpose through multiple views. Our master samurai, Shinzaemon, sees samurai as being for the people, while Hanbei, his rival, sees them as entirely in servitude to their master without question. Even the young lord, Shinzaemon's target, has a view, thought it is certainly the most negative of any of them.

If I have any complaints, it's two. First, the film does little exposition of the large cast and most of the assassins are simply there to be a fighting force. We learn very little about most of them, and even the samurai we do learn about, including Shinzaemon, get little exposition besides what we already expect, that he's a great samurai of justice. The second would be the clunking over the head about samurai ideals. Miike continues to push messages we've already acquired early in the film and it becomes slightly redundant by the end. However, these are minor complaints that are mostly easily ignored as the film runs at a fast pace with a 45 minute battle that is one of the best samurai battles I've seen on film, comparing to Azumi or Zatoichi's finale, but arguably handled better and with a master's touch.

It's hard to know if this is Miike's pinnacle. He certainly creates a modern samurai masterpiece of an epic here. One particularly powerful scene will remain with you for a long time, and this is the power of Miike's film, one that goes to places many are afraid to tread to leave a lasting impression. Violent, entertaining, and with good examination of the samurai and their duties, fans of Miike's previous films and fans of the samurai epic will not be disappointed.

What starts out as a revenge movie with a tight plot, interesting protaganists and a lot of tension, turns into a slug fest suffering badly from reverse ninja syndrome (see below). The first 70 minutes builds very nicely and is also a great exposition of Bushido code and at the same time a damning indictment of it (from a modern perspective). The samurai behaving most closely to the way of the warrior are in fact the villains- Naritsugu is a lunatic who decides he wants to kick off the sengoku jidai (warring period) again, whilst Hanbei follows the code of Bushido religiously- he knows his lord is a psychotic lunatic but still obeys him as it is his duty to serve.

Shinzaemon, our hero, is actually quite community focused and one of his expositions, in discussion with his old friend and rival Hanbei, concerns the philosophy of whether the samurai serves the people of Japan or their master, unquestionably. He also shows his detatchment from Bushido when he initially rejects an applicant to join his plot on the basiis he is too young to die- this strange decision quickly being queried by his peers and duly reversed.
So far so good and our heroes once formed race off to assasinate Naritsugu on his way to his home lands. We have a great set piece at a bridge where Naritsugu is forced to divert into a trap but once he gets there the film loses the plot.

Instead of a realistic, set piece battle, we have 45 minutes of our 13 heroes cutting up an escort of 200 almost at will. As the key characters run around it is clear that their opponents, the Akashi samurai, are incompetent beyond belief. This might be explained to a degree by the comment earlier in the film that Samurai don't much get to use their swords anymore (the film is set in the 19th Century) and thhe Akashi are facing 13 chosen experts, but nevertheless not only is the sword fighting incompetent, it looks it too. Naturally (and I am sure I'm giving away nothing here) the assassins die one by one as they cut down Naritsugu's retinue and we end with a final face off between Shinzaemon annd his nemesis and target.

It's still a good, enjoyable film but the tone changes so much from a tense thriller into a gory/ silly actioner, it is quite jarring. Absolutely what could have been a classic film is damaged by the silliness of the conclusion.

Reverse Ninja Syndrome- Basically the more nija that attack you the safer you are as for each additional ninja added to an attack, the group's overall capabilities decline exponentially. So a single ninja will cuase yo ua lot of problems, but if attacked by 20 of them, it's a cake walk.

It's the old, old story...a small group of men we come to know are willing to die for a noble cause, and die they do, fighting against the odds, sacrificing themselves for honor and justice. Just as we probably wouldn't do. They still make us tear up. Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins owes much to the story of the 47 ronin. The story still works, whether it's the 47 ronin, those seven samurai or Robert Taylor and his 13 buddies on Bataan.

Look upon 13 Assassins as a movie with four acts, set in Japan in the middle of the 19th century. The Tokugawa shogunate is decaying, falling apart because of outdated customs, calcified hereditary government, corruption and too many armed warriors with sharp swords and nothing much to do after nearly three centuries of peace. There's a weak, disengaged shogun; his ambitious, cruel and probably psychopathic younger half brother who pushes the envelope when it comes to other men's wives and his own servants, who soon will move into a position of power; a samurai of honor and bravery who is recruited to end the young man's career permanently; the 12 men he recruits to assist him; and how it all ends. No love stories, no sex.

Act one: We see what a monster Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu is. For an attractive-looking and privileged young man, even Jack the Ripper might find off-putting his ways of relaxing through rape and murder. He gives sadism a bad name.

Act two: We meet Shinzaemon Shimada (Koji Yakusho), an experienced, tired and trusted samurai. We follow how he is recruited by those high in the government, how he recruits 11 others (along the way a mountain peasant will join them), and how he sets his traps to attack the young psycho as Naritsugu and his warriors travel from Edo to Naritsugu's clan province.

Act three: A 50-minute battle that leaves just about everyone in sight slashed, burned or exploded to death.

Act four: A better world...maybe.

Yes, the story is a cliché. Miike, however, has delivered a movie of excellent craftsmanship. He immediately sets the point of the movie with a scene of queasy but not gory seppuku, and develops why this act leads to the assassination plot. For the most part, the 13 assassins are well-defined enough that the audience is drawn to them, and is saddened at their inevitable and noble deaths. Miike presents a vision of feudal Japan, its leadership, the county and its life that is realistic as well as beautifully photographed. The action may be brutal but the views are first-rate. He handles the long, climatic battle with mastery. This action is set in the village of Ochiai, a village of death Shinzaemon calls it, where he and his 12 fellows meet head on Matsudaira and his 200 retainers, considerably more than they expected. Shinzaemon and his men have laced the village with deathly, unexpected traps that surprise the opposing samurai as much as they surprise the audience. It's 50 minutes of rousing sword-slashing action, the few against the many, with each assassin having his moment of bravery while he cuts down or blows up dozens. Miike hurtles the action along and he is skilled enough not to lose the clarity of how the long battle proceeds.

Two quibbles, one serious. Whoever wrote the subtitles did a disservice to the movie by using American vernacular far too often. Informal phrases that we wouldn't notice in a contemporary American film are jarring when supposedly coming from the mouths of samurai in the 1840s. "Listen up" is only one of several examples.

At the end we're also faced with the question, is one of the 13 a ghost or simply a hardy survivor of a sword thrust through the neck and abdomen? Miike says it could be either, and either way a viewer might take it is fine with him. I feel it's either sloppy or pretentious directing, bringing in an unneeded question at the end of a very good movie.

For those who admire and have enjoyed this movie, I recommend they watch Chushingura (1962), a nearly 3-1/2 hour telling of the story of the 47 ronin.

The DVD of 13 Assassins includes an interview with Miike by a constantly smiling and deferential young woman who lobs easy questions. Miike at one point says, "This is not an action film, but a drama." He's right. For all the action, the movie has a pervasive feeling of something like sadness and inevitability. But later Miike says, "When a sword hits another sword, it's not about metal hitting against metal. It's someone's soul battling another soul." Shades of Mishima. The truth probably lies among Lord Matsudaira's last words. As he says, "It hurts."