Twilight Samurai (Japanese Movie)

First in Yamada Yoji's acclaimed samurai trilogy, The Twilight Samurai, looks beyond the shallow surface of the Japanese culture of that period on the effect on an individual's conduct. One is required to conform to social norms and standards to the extent of suppressing all individuality in order to "fit in".

Sanada Hiroyuki plays a low ranked but highly skilled samurai widower with 2 young children around whom his life revolves. He's attracted to a beautiful but married woman so it seems their relationship is doomed even though she is divorced from her husband as social convention frowns upon such relationship. That and his reticent and reserved nature that prevents him from opening up to her.

The motto of this story is that life is short and we should make the best of each moment, social norms be damned. More info........

Cast:
Sanada Hiroyuki
Miyazawa Rie

Rating: 3/5
This is the first movie of this director that I've watched and it's very different from the usual samurai flicks that I'm so fond of. It's not about fighting. It's about the man and his emotions. That's so atypical of Japanese samurai movies.
Sad to say it has a sad ending and I'm not a fan of such endings.