Movies - The Twilight Samurai

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	Movies - The Twilight Samurai

The Twilight Samurai (たそがれ清兵衛, Tasogare Seibei) is a 2002 Japanese movie directed by Yamada Yoji. Set in mid-19th century Japan, a few years before the Meiji Restoration, it follows the life of Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai employed as a bureaucrat. Poor if not destitute, he still leads a happy life with his daughters and senile mother. Sadly the turbulent times conspire against him.

The film is different from many other samurai-themed films in that it concentrates on showing the main character's everyday struggles instead of focusing on battles. In actuality, the film contains very few fight scenes.

The Twilight Samurai was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film award at the 76th Academy Awards, losing to the Canadian film Les Invasions barbares
. Twilight Samurai also won an unprecented 12 Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.

Plot

At the start of the film, the main character Seibei Iguchi becomes a widower as his wife dies from an illness common at the time. His samurai colleagues give him the condescending nickname "Tasogare Seibei" or "Twilight Seibei", in light of the fact that every time it gets dark in the evening, he disappears to look after his elderly mother and two young daughters, Kayana and Ito, instead of going out with the others.

Things change when Seibei's childhood friend and the sister of one of his samurai friends, Tomoe, returns to town. Recently divorced from an abusive husband, she quickly bonds with Seibei's children. When her former husband returns in search of her, Seibei defends her honor in a duel, beating the husband with only a wooden stick. However, when Tomoe's brother Michinojo Iinima asks Seibei to marry her, Seibei refuses, citing his low standing and how he doesn't want her to live in poverty.

The final turning point in the film happens when Seibei's clan, having heard of his prowess with a sword, wants him to kill a former samurai retainer, Zenemon Yogo, who refused to commit seppuku after acting against the interests of the clan. Seibei is also promised a rise in standing for this service. He is reluctant at first, but has no choice but to agree to do the task. In the end, Seibei fights and kills Yogo and finally gets to marry Tomoe.

In a brief epilogue, his younger daughter explains that their happiness was not to last: he died three years later in the Boshin War.

Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada
- Seibei Iguchi
Rie Miyazawa
- Tomoe Iinuma
Nenji Kobayashi - Choubei Kusaka
Ren Osugi
- Toyotarou Kouda
Mitsuru Fukikoshi - Michinojo Iinuma
Hiroshi Kanbe - Naota
Miki Itô - Kayana Iguchi
Erina Hashiguchi - Ito Iguchi
Reiko Kusamura - Iguchi's Mother
Min Tanaka - Zenemon Yogo
Keiko Kishi - Ito
Tetsuro Tamba
- Tozaemon Iguchi

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Twilight Samurai ]

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