*SPOILER ALERT* This is not a samurai film. Well, that is not entirely true. Samurai Rebellion is a late comer in the samurai movie genre. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi and staring a Toshiro Mifune that is in the Autumn of his years, Samurai Rebellion is a kitchen sink drama set in imperial Japan. This is royalty melodrama. The Lord of the community kicks a woman out of his castle due to insubordination despite the fact that she bore him a son. She is commanded to marry a commoner although neither party wanted to.
Once the woman and man get together they find that they love each other deeply. A wonder to the man's husband. He who himself was forced into a planned marriage and who never felt love from or for his wife of 20 years. The young couple also produce a daughter.
Two years after the marriage of the common man and the lords refugee, the oldest son in the castle dies unexpectedly. The lord then attempts to force the common family to hand over the very woman it dis-guarded 2 years ago in order to have the new heir to the throne's mother in the castle. The young husband and his father refuse to hand over the woman despite the wishes of the rest of the family and community. This will bring a battle to the front steps of their house.
I say this is a kitchen sink drama like those of the British new wave of the 60's because there is a lot of talking and not much action. The final 20 minutes of the film contains the only battles or sword fighting. At first I held this against the film. I wanted to see more sword play from a film called Samurai Rebellion. But as I look back on it I wish that more current films (and especially American movies) had this much well written drama with stakes this high.
Allow me to sing the praises of Toshiro Mifune for a moment. I will have to join the back of a long line of film critics and cinephiles in order to do so. Mifune is the protagonist of many of the great Kurasawa films like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood and Roshomon. Usually I find his acting style a little too "kabuki" for me. That is to say a little to theatrical or big. The characters I have see him portray have always been larger than life and that put me off a little. In this film however I felt that he was perfect. A henpecked, sad sack of a man that finally sees what love looks like through his son's eyes. At this point both father and son have an epiphany and in a way they both become "men" at the same time.
This is a great movie for a snowy or rainy day. Get some popcorn, plop down on the couch and enjoy a Shakespearean story told through the eyes of a samurai. I give Samurai Rebellion a 4/5 stars. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.
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