Ichi (2008)
I loved this movie. I loved nearly everything about it. It’s the perfect blend of samurai action, drama, comedy, story, soundtrack… you name it.
The story? A “goze singer” (which seems to be code for blind prostitute) named Ichi (Haruka Ayase) meets up with rather inept ronin samurai Toma Fujihara (Takao Oosawa) and the fun begins. She’s searching for her father, and while its never said outright, we’re left to assume that he is indeed the famed Zatoichi. But that’s not really important.
They find themselves caught in a rather stock plot of protecting a village from a gang of bandits led by Banki (Shido Nakamura.) And sure, the story is rather predictable and “standard issue,” its still a lot of fun. No I won’t spoil it, but you can probably guess the outcome.
Like I said, the stock plot isn’t what’s great about the movie. Everything else is. Between Ichi’s stoic determination, Toma’s overcoming of his “block,” the recurring “tonma” joke(!) and Nakamura’s suitably evil sneer, this is a classic in the making.
Not only that, but its pretty much left the door open for sequels, and I hope they make plenty of them. A bonus: Students of the Japanese language take heart. Unlike a lot of (older) samurai movies, the dialog is in a more modern style, rather than the usual short cursory stuff, so if you’re like me you could actually understand a great deal without the subtitles. Awesome.
Be sure to check out Ichi. Don’t get it confused with another Ichi (the Killer) which I’ll review later. Trust me. Don’t get them confused!
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