Review of The Sensei (2008) by Roxanne R — 09 Mar 2011

As I have indicated several times before I usually do not award five stars unless the film overall is terrific and really touches me, moves me and this one is compelling all the way, it will resonate with millions of people especially those suffering from HIV. While films like THE KARATE KID (1984) and BEST OF THE BEST (1989) bring out a message about self defense and teamwork, this martial arts drama gives a positive message about civil rights and the courage to fight for who you are during the 1980â²s. The âsenseiâ? of the title is a woman named Karen Oâ(TM)Neill, played by writer/director Diana Lee Inosanto. A Japanese-Filipino-American, she returns to her hometown of Summersfield after a falling out with her family over her rank as a black belt. She has made amends with most of her family, with the exception of her brother Simon who still feels she has somehow disgraced the family with her rebellious attitude.

The other protagonist is a gay teenager named McClane Evans (Mike Oâ(TM)Laskey), who lost his best friend. Needless to say being gay in a small town will bring hate and discontent and a group of classmates decide to beat him up and sodomize him after gym class. The tragic indicent places McClane in a hospital and his mother, desperate to help her son, enlists the aid of Karen to teach him karate and self-defense. I must point out that this motion picture was set during a time where the AIDS epidemic was on a high rise and people came under the assumption that only homosexual people were akin to the disease. Clearly that is not the case now but this movie at the end made me cry and when a director can touch the audience in such a way, in my humble opinion they have achieved victory. I still remember McClane's words as he said: "I would like to think that my sensei is on some mountain top, watching, smiling, from the skies above." OH God I think I am going to shed some tears again because it was very moving and what happened to Karen can happen to any of us! Bravo to the cast and especially the director for making a wonderful, memorable film...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED folks!!