Japanese Cinema Tip
Harakiri (Region 1) - Kobayashi, MasakiReleasedatum: 17 mei 2004
In this grim yet exquisitely composed film, Kobayashi Masaki delves into the world of the 17th-century samurai, examining `the honor in death—and the death of honor' (Time). After an unemployed samurai is forced to commit harakiri before a feudal lord, his father-in-law returns to the scene, seemingly to play out the same agonizing suicide ritual. Kobayashi begins at the story's end, then recounts the narrative as told by the father-in-law. The effect is almost unbearably suspenseful, leading to an explosive climax of supreme defiance and samurai swordplay, erupting from a battle of wills, called bluffs, and hotly defended honour. For connoisseurs of samurai action, Harakiri is not to be missed.
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