Samurai Marathon (2019)

Samurai Marathon is apparently based on a true story, or, at least, on true events. That is why the movie was just a bit ... I wouldn't say boring but it lacked intensity. Usually, with samurai movies you expect action scenes that can take your breath away, wonderful speeches about greatness and deep emotions. Here, you get nice characters, but a flat story.

The action scenes were okay, but just a bit boring. The characters, moreover, were interesting, but they were too many to follow and that's why the movie couldn't handle them and they ended up falling through the cracks and disappearing.

The performances, as expected, were brilliant. The movie was packed with Japan's big names (I mean Sato Takeru was one of the leads and that is enough reason to watch this one).

So, overall, six out of ten.

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1855, Japan is at the crossroads: change is inevitable but fear of invasion a big issue. Samurai Marathon is based on actual events, of minor importance though, and the main asset of the film is no doubt its great ensemble cast: among them, Takeru Satoh, Nana Komatsu and Mirai Moriyama really deliver the goods.

British director Bernard Rose (mostly known for Candy Man) leads you through the beautiful landscapes of the Yamagata Prefecture in an epic which is both a tribute and a parody. The cinematography is superb and the soundtrack (Phil Glass) just as good.

The film is a very pleasant watch and offers a mix of action, drama and farcical elements for a plot which deals with duty and loyalty.

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Do not excel, do not fail

Samurai Marathon is based loosely on a true story in 1855 around the time the Americans came calling in their "black ships." A local lord decides he needs to toughen up the men in his village who have been accustomed to peace by having any man under 50 compete in a 36 mile grueling marathon. Trouble began when the resident ninja spy mistakenly sent word to the Shogun that the lord was planning rebellion misunderstanding that it was a drill. Oops! The town of Annaka still holds a race in honor of the samurais' run.

Samurai Marathon is one of those movies you have to be patient with. It starts off slow, very slow, with a multitude of characters introduced with barely enough time to register faces and motivations, certainly not enough time to care about many of them. Satoh Takeru plays the super secret ninja spy who makes the error and then spends the movie trying to clean up his mistake. Komatsu Nana portrays a princess who just wants to be an artist and has no inclination to marry the man her father is setting her up with. And that guy would be Tsujimura Heikuro, played by Moriyama Mirai, a character that straddles morality. The local lord promises a wish to the first man across the finish line and Heikuro is determined to be that guy by hook or by crook. Other colorful, but not very memorable characters fill out the race roster.

The movie finally gets some traction at the halfway mark when the race has begun and the disparate groups face off against each other. There are several fierce sword battles. Director Bernard Rose, no stranger to horror, included some particularly gruesome decapitations. An assassin with a six-shooter increases the menace. Seriously people, a serpentine exit is the best strategy, don't run away in a straight line!

With a cast this large and unwieldy, the acting was fine. Even with the few weaker performances, the characters scarcely have enough time on screen running for you to notice. The first half of the movie was disjointed and could be confusing racing from character to character. The pacing was uneven at best until it finally hit its stride. I will say that in the opening scene when Danny Huston as Commodore Perry makes an appearance, I thought he would play more into the story. When this actor shows up in a movie you know it's time to hide the jewelry and the women and children, he always plays a baddie. For the most part, short of introducing the handguns, he provided little reason to take up screen time.

Samurai Marathon is not a bad way to spend your time if you can make it through the first hour and still be engaged. By the time the mud covered motley crew of runners dragged into the castle I was rooting for them, well, most of them.




8/5/22

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Bland, but would recommend anyways

While I'm sure there are many good ones that exist, when I think of Wild Wild West, Cowboys fighting Indian movies I often think of flashy but nondescript storylines. A fun watch while you're watching it, but then when you reflect you realize nothing has really happened. Maybe a tumbleweed, maybe a saloon scene...but that's about as memorable as it is. If that stereotype had an Eastern counterpart, I'd relate it to watching this. Costumes and production was well, and the acting roster is commendable as well. But the storyline was definitely a B or C tier choice. I watched it particularly to experience Sato and Aoki's acting, but was overall not particularly drawn to any character. Nor did I feel like I watched any emotional tugging character development. Immemorable (if that were a word). But with all that negativity in mind, I wouldn't not recommend this. In fact, I'd say that given how bland it is -- if you want to have a fair enjoyable experience, but no major heartfeels (or just want something easy but still fairly exciting to watch), then you should watch it. It's still shot well. If we're not doing comparisons to other movies out there, this is a box standard--no major bad qualms movie.

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What were the reasons I watched this film...
1. Sato Takeru in a Hakama
2. Samurai

Oops... I thought I would list more things... I didn't even read the summary, so I can't say I went for the plot either.

Apparently, this one's based on a novel and an actual historical event. The film doesn't solely center on Sato Takeru's character. It tells the story of the people of Annaka (today a town in Japan). Its lord is concerned about how his samurai are doing during this time of peace while foreigners (through trading) slowly start to approach that so far closed Japan to outsiders. He sees a thread in them and doesn't want his men to slack off. Therefore he starts a marathon to keep them on track.

At first it sounds somewhat unusual. But it was a really pleasant watch for me. There are no fancy sword fights or overwhelming poetic dialogues or scenes. It simply shows how unstable peace was back then (spies laid low everywhere), how one single letter can change for the better or worse and how people who were only aiming for their own goals before, start to fight unitedly to protect their territory.

I felt really comfortable while watching. The atmosphere wasn't too heavy, though there was still some seriousness to it. The film doesn't go into too much detail and yet you grasp all the subtle circumstances everyone is in.

It starts on a calm note but it never drags. It has a steady rhythm to tell the story, very well paced, in my opinion. You don't always need action-loaded elements to enjoy something like that. Sometimes you just need a well thought through strategy that puts every piece together in the final stage. Combined with some beautiful cinematography, you get a real nice dish served.

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¡Qué manera de desperciar a un buen cast!

Es una película decepcionante.

Si no ves el poster, al ver la película ni cuenta te das de quién es el supuesto 'protagonista' porque está muy desdibujado tanto físicamente -no aparece- como en personalidad, es la primera vez que veo a un protagonista con tanta falta de presencia y tener un error así en una película, ya es un asunto muy serio.

En cuanto a la trama, tarda mucho de desarrollarse y no lleva a ninguna parte, es una pena que se haya invertido en una gran producción y en un buenísimo cast (desde Satoh Takeru, Komatsu Nana, Hasegawa Hiroki, Sometani Shota, etc.) para tener un resultado tan pobre como lo es esta película que en ocasiones cae en lo ridículo.

Ni en broma la volvería a ver y mucho menos recomendarla.

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