13 Assassins

Film Review by Keir Roper-Caldbeck | 29 Aug 2011
Film title: 13 Assassins
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya
Release date: 5 Sep 2011
Certificate: 15

There is an extraordinary scene near the beginning of 13 Assassins. Samurai Shinzaemon has been asked to kill Lord Naritsugu whose extreme cruelty is threatening the stability of the kingdom. As a final inducement to accept the task he is shown one of the aristocrat's mutilated victims. After this truly horrific sight, in a moment as thrilling as it is disturbing, he breaks into a delighted smile and says: “How fate smiles on me!” He knows that he will now have the opportunity for the noble death in battle that he has always sought. This scene is not only masterfully acted and directed, it also perfectly captures the implacable code that has made the Samurai warrior such a compelling character in film.

Takashi Miike directs the film with restraint, ratcheting up the tension as Shinzaemon prepares his team and creating in the blandly psychotic Lord Naritsugu a memorable screen monster. The final battle is as epic as it is bloodily inventive. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]