Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei) should have won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003. Instead, the tepid Canadian film The Barbarian Invasions won. Another excellent foreign film that could have finished a close second that year was Evil, from Norway. Both films are superior foreign films, with Twilight Samurai getting a slight edge.
In the late 19th Century, in the waning days of the Samurai, a Samurai of meager wages struggles to balance family life with the demands of his clan. Following the death of his wife, Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada) falls into disarray. He spends too much on his wife's funeral, in order to avoid bringing disgrace on her wealthy family. His young daughters are five (Ito, played by Erina Hashiguchi) and ten (Kayano, played by Miki Ito). Seibei bears a humble wisdom and enjoys the time he spends with his daughters in the evening. The sit around the fire making insect cages for side money.
Seibei once instructed under a Master. His humility and obligations lead him to avoid trouble, giving him the appearance of weakness. His ripped clothing and lack of personal hygiene have made him a joke among his peers. When Seibei's childhood crush Tomoe Linuma (Rie Miyazawa) returns to his village his life begins to turn around. Although Seibei appears to be improving, fate seems intent on keeping the two apart. When he is called upon by the clan to carry out a dangerous mission, Seibei considers all he has to lose and must choose between facing the danger or suffering the consequences of refusal.
Twilight Samurai takes a very simple story, told by Seibei's daughter years later, and makes it relevant to today. The struggles and hardships of a Samurai, half the world away, have correlations to modern life. The script avoids overdoing the drama in exchange for strong characters and excellent dialogue. The film is a bit subdued which gives it some pacing issues at times. However, the subtlety manages to give the film credibility and relevance. You could change the names and circumstances and place this story in Detroit and still make it work. A classic underdog story without the climax and hype.
Sanada was exceptional as Seibei. His performance conveyed silent strength, awkwardness, humility and intellect. Sanada brought the elements of his character together in a way that touches the audience. The script does not get sappy or emotional, but does manage to convey meaning through the strong performances. Hashiguchi is cute as a button and charming as well. Seibei had believable chemistry with Miyazawa. Miyazawa had a smaller role but managed to win the audience over with little effort.
The version of Twilight Samurai I watched was unrated. There were no adult themes or sensuality. The language was mundane. The only material I felt might be questionable were some scenes of fighting that were relatively mild. There is a fight between a sword and stick that was almost comical. Another battle involved a sword through the throat that was close to Vaudeville in credibility (but did have some blood). Another sword battle was slightly more graphic but still low on the gore scale. All things considered, I would not put an age restriction on this film. If the kids are old enough to read the sub-titles, they should be fine with the material covered. Run time is two hours, nine minutes.
Twilight Samurai was adapted from Shuhei Fujisawa's novel into a screenplay by Director Yoji Yamada. The film was visually interesting with excellent sets and tolerable special effects (this was not a fight/effects style film), outstanding acting and great dialogue. The film engages the audience because the rich characters are well developed and their circumstances matter. The pacing was a little slow at times but never got completely bogged down. I thought this film should have won best foreign language film in 2003. 8.5/10.
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