Zatôichi

Every once in a while a film comes along that I can't wait to write the review for. Case in point -- stuck in SF waiting for my unplanned red-eye flight and hauling my overnight bag all over town, well, what else is a tired film lover going to do? Go to the excellent Landmark Theatres to see the newest film by Takeshi Kitano. It was the only choice for my time frame, and I've become a bit weary of samurai films (and especially disappointed by the last one), however I'd heard raves and it won the top prize at the Toronto Film Festival. I've never seen a Kitano film and I hope this is emblematic of his work, as I will now vigorously seek it out. Zatôichi is a blind swordsman wandering the countryside as any normal masterless samurai. He stumbles into a messy situation and assists in fixing the problems. Only he's nearly background material at times because of the other stories unfolding -- a betrayed brother and sister fallen into the saddest way of life, a village idiot, a wayward nephew hooked on gambling, and a ronin burdened with a sickly wife. Each character grows or finds resolution in his or her way, and it's how Kitano puts the pieces together that makes it so intriguing. Not a perfect film (at times you are confused by the placement of some flashbacks or some additional, seemingly unnecessary scenes) and it's not like these tales haven't been told before. But the additional elements give it its special spark -- the animated spurting blood (yes, it's a bit gory, beware), the Kodo-like dance-cum-rhythm-section troupe, the extended geisha performance sequence. And last but not least Beat (Takeshi) Kitano's embodiment of the blind swordsman. Now that's perfect.

year: 2003
length: 116 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363226/combined

Z

This is quite unique. It's a French film based on the assassination of a prominent Greek senator in the 1960s who leaned too far to the left for the majority of the population. The government tries to cover up the assassination, initially calling it an "accident," while a judge and a journalist try to get at the truth. The most chilling part of the film is the last one minute, which I won't give away here. I will say that the film is part mystery and part thriller, with a lot of exposition which could be considered boring by some. Costa-Gavras' strength lies in how he puts together the pieces of the story, both on a broad story-arc level and at the scenic level. In one scene, he shows government officials being indicted by the judge, but instead of showing you just one official as an example he shows them all, filmed nearly exactly the same. Naturally after the third official we get the point, but the repetition drives home how involved the government was in the tragedy.

year: 1969
length: 127 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065234/combined