Having recently worked through a dozen or so samurai films, including Kurosawa's generally brilliant offerings, my taste had become fairly attuned to the genre and although several were very good the style was beginning to wear thin. Until Hidden Blade. This is an exceptional film; original in story, characters and direction. The plot is quite simple: a samurai whose father's disgrace has reduced the family in status, lives with a maid and a servant. He is in love with the maid, and she with him, but the social conventions and their own decency prevent this from becoming anything more than a tender friendship. The samurai's sword school companion gets himself into trouble and finally their sword-brother relationship leads the plot to a climax. There are several fights, a background of western military training being given to the samurai in this area, but above all that is the compassion and decency of the samurai and his maid. There is not a wasted moment in the direction; the scenery is beautiful; the acting is very engaging; the story seems to move at a gentle pace but it's impossible to take your eyes off the screen - one of those truly well- made movies where the technical excellence is so understated that you know only that you're being swept along with the story. Highly, highly recommended.
Review of The Hidden Blade
