Then why do it? If 3D is going to work, shots need to be framed differently. Even in the press notes Miike says he did nothing different when shooting with 3D than he would have with 2D. As much as I despise 3D, I like to think I’ve been relatively fair to the gimmicky filmmaking technique, but this is inexcusable. The 3D was another miscalculation as it brings absolutely nothing to the story outside of turning it into a dark and murky mess. Sakamoto’s score itself isn’t the problem, it’s actually wonderful music, it just doesn’t fit as much as it lulls you to sleep. The mood is also thrown off by the more modern score from Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning composer of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor. The words and moments are there, but the passion doesn’t come through. Miike doesn’t establish the current poverty level the samurai are facing will enough, as the result of peace in Edo, causing for scores of unemployed ronin. As heart-wrenching as the story of Motome and his sick wife and child - which brought him to the House of Ii in the first place - is, Miike drags their story out so long you find yourself hoping they will die just so something else can happen.Īdditionally, the message relating to the honor and the code of the samurai isn’t as powerful as it need be. The tension is found in the reason Hanshiro has brought himself to the House of Ii and why three of their samurai have gone missing. Serving as the polar opposite to Miike’s recent samurai effort, 13 Assassins, which was an absolute blast and a modern day samurai feature worth owning, Hara-kiri is slow and deliberate to a fault. The film bounces back-and-forth in time to tell its story and create an increasing amount of tension, but Miike’s decision to tell the back-story that led to Hanshiro’s arrival at the House’s gate in one lengthy segment midway through is a massive miscalculation, turning the film into a dreadful bore. Hara-kiri follows the fractured narrative of Hanshiro (Ebizo Ichikawa), an unemployed samurai who sets out to exact revenge on the House of Ii after learning of the fate of his son-in-law Motome (Eita) in the house’s courtyard two months earlier. With a running time set at two hours and six minutes, it’s the 90 minutes smack dab in the middle that test your ability to stay awake. ![]() ![]() Miike’s telling is incredibly similar to that of Kobayashi’s, the difference being Miike’s inability to break free of his lethargic pace. Somehow he has managed to make a film six minutes shorter than Masaki Kobayashi’s far superior 1962 classic and make it feel as if it is one hour longer. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Takashi Miike’s new adaptation of Yasuhiko Takiguchi’s novel, is an absolute snoozer. ![]() Ebizo Ichikawa in Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai
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