Review of Harakiri (1962) by Robert F — 21 Dec 2007

Wow! I'm a big fan of Kurosawa and have seen many of his samurai period films. This movie, directed by Kobayashi not Kurosawa, probably takes the cake. The screenplay was written by the same genius behind Roshomon.

This film has a complex narrative structure as it weaves its way through a heartbreaking story of revenge. Besides being an excellent story, the film's main purpose is to criticize the notions of tradition and government as cruel, irrational and fundamentally meaningless means of control.