Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai

After revitalising the samurai picture with the thrilling 13 Assassins, Takashi Miike's new movie Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai is a change of pace, and a disappointment. After a compelling start – complete with a stomach-churning seppuku sequence – the film loses its way badly when it embarks upon a lengthy flashback that drags towards a conclusion we've already anticipated in advance. The recounting of hardships suffered by a young ronin and his family feels sluggish and overwrought, when all we want to do is leap forward to the climactic face-off between veteran samurai Ebizô Ichikawa and the Li Clan. Fortunately, the climax is worth waiting for, and throughout Hara-kiri there are moments of effective brutality and startling beauty. It's also great to see Miike embracing 3D and using it so intelligently, with some gorgeous compositions being worth the price of admission alone, even if it's really the script rather than the visuals that needed some added depth and dimensions. [Philip Concannon]