Review of Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011) by Justin M — 10 Mar 2013

As I do without almost every film I watch, I went into this one blind. Well, not entirely blind, I knew Takashi Miike directed it and that caries a certain expectations. You can't watch many of his films without getting expectations the same way you expect certain things from Quentin Tarantino, regardless what his film is about.

I was not expecting what I saw at all. He had, *gash* sympathetic characters! What!? There are no crazy lunatics, no madness, no perverted sexual under tones, little graphic violence. Instead it was a simple, predictable even, tale of a poor samurai trying to protect his honor. It paints with broad strokes, but the colors are well chosen. It's very well shot and well worth seeing. It's the easiest film of Miike's that I can recommend to the general public, more so than even 13 Assassins.

Any fan of samurai films or Japanese period dramas should check this one out. For myself? I will be making a point to watch more of Miike's films in the future.