With a title like Samurai Rebellion and a disc cover featuring a bloody, threatening Toshiro Mifune, I was expecting an old-fashioned, meat-and-potatoes samurai yarn with clearly-defined good guys and bad guys. Instead, I experienced the near opposite: a movie awash in shades of gray and in a world where honor, loyalty and sword mastery are not always enough. I'm an avid defender of genre entertainment, placing the samurai genre near the top of ones that reliably please. Samurai Rebellion, however, offers an experience that is much more interesting, as well as with a much more long-term satisfaction.
Set in a time of peace and entirely on the grounds of the Sasahara clan, the movie begins with veteran swordsman Isaburo (Mifune) and his friend Tatewaki involved in a required yet ultimately pointless - and for these soldiers, elementary - training exercise under the direction of the clan lord. It becomes immediately clear that the soldiers know that the exercise is beneath them yet have no power to object to their leader's wishes, a moment which in turn establishes - in addition to the stark, imposing opening shots of the Sasahara fortress - the clan rule's imposition and obstinacy. With no opportunity to put his skills to meaningful use and with a tradition-loyal wife at home in whom he cannot confide, Isaburo starts to feel very empty and useless. This changes, though, when Isaburo learns that his son, Yogoro, is to marry Ichi, a former mistress of the clan lord. Ichi, who had a son with the ruler, quickly turned into a pariah for lashing out at him for immediately taking up with another woman as if their affair never happened. Despite her reputation, Yogoro and Ichi's marriage is a strong and loving one, producing a daughter as well as a revitalization of sorts for Isaburo, who feels more alive now than he ever did as a servant of the clan's cause. Unfortunately, his elation is short-lived, as an untimely death makes the clan lord's illegitimate son his sole heir, which by tradition requires Ichi to return to the ruler's side. Unwilling to watch his family fall apart, Isaburo opposes the entire clan and seeks to expose its wrongdoings all by himself, an act resulting in bloodshed, the revelation of true colors and ultimately, the pitting of friend against friend.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a samurai movie where the villain is not bandits or warriors from another kingdom, but instead the kind of establishment that samurai were trained to uphold. In doing this, the movie takes apart the ugly side of fealty, especially in how the happiness of the subjected can vanish at the signing of an order or even at a whim. Japan being a country that takes its history and traditions very seriously, it's a wonder Kobayashi was able to get away with telling a story like this, his transition from working in the studio system to freelance being the likely explanation. Samurai Rebellion also defies convention in style and technique: instead of interspersing scenes of action with scenes of dialogue as seen in the typical samurai movie, Kobayashi gives us a slow burn of tension, saving all of the action to the best possible point to release it. Isaburo's struggle reminded me very much of Terry Malloy's in On The Waterfront in both purpose and in quality of performance. Mifune's transition from subservient veteran to vigilante is expertly gradual, and while his violent outbursts in his other performances tend to go over the top, here, he is true to character from Isaburo's highest point to his lowest. All of the supporting performances are equally solid, especially Yoko Tsukasa's, who demonstrates Ichi's powerlessness and desire for freedom with great pathos. The movie does not succeed on all points, however: the vast majority of Samurai Rebellion is dialogue-driven, and there are many scenes that could have been more interesting had Kobayashi showed more instead of told, especially since most of these scenes take place in formal settings where everyone must remain stock still. Formality or not, a little camera movement in these scenes could have gone a long way. Still, it has to be said that when Kobayashi does "show," such as in the aforementioned scene during the training exercise, he does it with great poignancy and efficiency. Also, there are some moments where characters mention that a great deal of time has passed, but since they exhibit little to no corresponding changes in age, behavior, and with the possible exception of Ichi and Yogoro's daughter, appearance, these passages are hard to take seriously. Regardless, Samurai Rebellion stands as one of the best samurai movies I've seen, not to mention proof that Kobayashi is as deserving of praise of Japanese directors like Ichikawa and Kurosawa.
Set in a time of peace and entirely on the grounds of the Sasahara clan, the movie begins with veteran swordsman Isaburo (Mifune) and his friend Tatewaki involved in a required yet ultimately pointless - and for these soldiers, elementary - training exercise under the direction of the clan lord. It becomes immediately clear that the soldiers know that the exercise is beneath them yet have no power to object to their leader's wishes, a moment which in turn establishes - in addition to the stark, imposing opening shots of the Sasahara fortress - the clan rule's imposition and obstinacy. With no opportunity to put his skills to meaningful use and with a tradition-loyal wife at home in whom he cannot confide, Isaburo starts to feel very empty and useless. This changes, though, when Isaburo learns that his son, Yogoro, is to marry Ichi, a former mistress of the clan lord. Ichi, who had a son with the ruler, quickly turned into a pariah for lashing out at him for immediately taking up with another woman as if their affair never happened. Despite her reputation, Yogoro and Ichi's marriage is a strong and loving one, producing a daughter as well as a revitalization of sorts for Isaburo, who feels more alive now than he ever did as a servant of the clan's cause. Unfortunately, his elation is short-lived, as an untimely death makes the clan lord's illegitimate son his sole heir, which by tradition requires Ichi to return to the ruler's side. Unwilling to watch his family fall apart, Isaburo opposes the entire clan and seeks to expose its wrongdoings all by himself, an act resulting in bloodshed, the revelation of true colors and ultimately, the pitting of friend against friend.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a samurai movie where the villain is not bandits or warriors from another kingdom, but instead the kind of establishment that samurai were trained to uphold. In doing this, the movie takes apart the ugly side of fealty, especially in how the happiness of the subjected can vanish at the signing of an order or even at a whim. Japan being a country that takes its history and traditions very seriously, it's a wonder Kobayashi was able to get away with telling a story like this, his transition from working in the studio system to freelance being the likely explanation. Samurai Rebellion also defies convention in style and technique: instead of interspersing scenes of action with scenes of dialogue as seen in the typical samurai movie, Kobayashi gives us a slow burn of tension, saving all of the action to the best possible point to release it. Isaburo's struggle reminded me very much of Terry Malloy's in On The Waterfront in both purpose and in quality of performance. Mifune's transition from subservient veteran to vigilante is expertly gradual, and while his violent outbursts in his other performances tend to go over the top, here, he is true to character from Isaburo's highest point to his lowest. All of the supporting performances are equally solid, especially Yoko Tsukasa's, who demonstrates Ichi's powerlessness and desire for freedom with great pathos. The movie does not succeed on all points, however: the vast majority of Samurai Rebellion is dialogue-driven, and there are many scenes that could have been more interesting had Kobayashi showed more instead of told, especially since most of these scenes take place in formal settings where everyone must remain stock still. Formality or not, a little camera movement in these scenes could have gone a long way. Still, it has to be said that when Kobayashi does "show," such as in the aforementioned scene during the training exercise, he does it with great poignancy and efficiency. Also, there are some moments where characters mention that a great deal of time has passed, but since they exhibit little to no corresponding changes in age, behavior, and with the possible exception of Ichi and Yogoro's daughter, appearance, these passages are hard to take seriously. Regardless, Samurai Rebellion stands as one of the best samurai movies I've seen, not to mention proof that Kobayashi is as deserving of praise of Japanese directors like Ichikawa and Kurosawa.