For years, the Japanese cinema cranked out samurai adventures about a blind swordsman named Zatoichi. As a job description, “blind swordsman” does not sound reassuring, but it’s a gimmick that has proved durable. There was even an English-language spinoff, “Blind Fury,” with Rutger Hauer.
Now, actor-writer-director-TV-host Takeshi Kitano has revived this character in “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.” The character may be blind, but he is fearsomely gifted in his other senses (he can hear the results of a roll of the dice), and he has an uncanny ability to put his sword in the proximity of limbs belonging to bad guys.
Zatoichi is played by Kitano, whose lined, scarred face perpetually carries the rumor of a grin. This traveling swordsman gets caught in a complicated situation involving rival gangs. I couldn’t really begin to unravel the plot – to say nothing of various flashbacks setting up the situation – but it is inevitable that Zatoichi will be called upon to settle matters.
Especially colorful in filling out this scenario are two geisha girls with a lethal plot of their own. There’s also a deadly samurai (Tadanobu Asano), whose skill might just match Zatoichi’s own – and anticipating their eventual showdown is part of the movie’s fun.
Kitano’s take on the material is divided: equal parts Clint Eastwood-Sergio Leone spaghetti western and Three Stooges comedy. This movie has a wild sense of humor, not only in the deadpan Kitano’s onscreen reactions to things, but in the exaggerated, blood-geysering violence.
There’s another new wrinkle, too. I hesitate to give it away, but let’s just say Kitano has a weakness for the big musical-comedy production number.
In Kitano’s previous films, which have tended to land in the cop-gangster genre (such as “Brother” and “Fireworks”), he has displayed a tendency toward lyrical storytelling, interrupted by sudden bursts of shocking violence.
That’s true here too, although the lyrical bits tend to drift more than usual. Maybe Kitano was enjoying the samurai trappings too much.
Still, it’s a solid action outing, and once again Kitano the actor (this time bearing a disconcerting snow-white hairdo) leaves behind a tangy presence. Is it really believable that a blind swordsman could do all this? Kitano makes you want to turn a blind eye to credibility.
Tadanobu Asano (right) faces off against Takeshi Kitano in “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.”
“The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi” HHH
Japanese filmmaker-actor Takeshi Kitano takes on the familiar figure of a blind samurai, who stumbles into a local turf war. The movie drifts occasionally, but Kitano’s presence (and a taste for musical numbers) keeps it going. (In Japanese, with English subtitles.)
Rated: R rating is for violence.
Now showing: tk
“The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi” HHH
Japanese filmmaker-actor Takeshi Kitano takes on the familiar figure of a blind samurai, who stumbles into a local turf war. The movie drifts occasionally, but Kitano’s presence (and a taste for musical numbers) keeps it going. (In Japanese, with English subtitles.)
Rated: R rating is for violence.
Now showing: Metro, Uptown.
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