Film / Samurai Fiction

Definitely nothing wrong with that color.

Samurai Fiction (SF サムライ・フィクション — Esu Efu Samurai Fikushon) is a 1998 comedy-samurai film directed by Hiroyuki Nakano. It is almost entirely black-and-white, and follows a fairly standard plotline for a comedy and jidaigeki samurai film. The presence of Tomoyasu Hotei's rock-and-roll soundtrack separates it from the films it was inspired by, such as the works of Akira Kurosawa. A loose spinoff was released in 2001, as Red Shadow.

Tropes

• Accidental Pervert: ... and it happens to be the blind masseur too!
• Alliterative Name: Shintaro Suzuki.
• Ambiguously Gay: After some drinking at Lady Okatsu's establisment, Kazamatsuri asks for a bath, making Lady Okatsu who is by his side feel slightly embarrassed by the request and starts Playing Hard to Get, but he interrupts her wanting to do it with Gosuke, one of Lady Okatsu's men, instead. Later, while in town to go to a brothel, Kazamatsuri offers to pay Gosuke to sleep with women just as long as he can watch. Later, Lady Okatsu, in a last attempt to charm and seduce him to join her, enters the water pool where Kazamatsuri was bathing, still in her kimono. He unabashedly walks out and makes Lady Okatsu realize this implication about him not being that ambiguous.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Heishiro gives one to Koharu just after she's been taken back from Kazamatsuri. He does this all through shouting it out at her.
  Heishiro: Your father will surely win!
  You will be my wife!
  Mizoguchi will be my father too!
• Appetite Equals Health: After his injury in the fight, Heishiro has no need for food, and this is discussed by Koharu as being the situation with Heishiro, claiming to give him some gruel to eat.
• Badass Boast: All from Lady Okatsu:
  • Some rowdy customers at her gambling den makes her intervene and go up against two of them, who have drawn their swords, with a simple stick.
    Lady Okatsu: Any trouble here and we feed you to the crows.
    Any man. Be he samurai or lord!
  • Later, she says one to Kazamatsuri once her ploy to poison and kill him for the reward money has failed.
    Lady Okatsu: I'm a woman who's killed all manner of men.
    Even trumped up little samurai like you!
    No stray dog is going to give me any cheek.
• Badass Pacifist: Mizoguchi, who goes to great lengths NOT to use his sword, and once he does, he is shown praying for forgiveness. He later shares to Heishiro that he once was an enforcer for a clan, and after killing one conterpart from another clan, the man's dying wish was for somebody to take care of his soon to be orphaned daughter — this proves enough of a Heroic BSoD for Mizoguchi that he departs from his fief and adopts Koharu as his own, only keeping the sword as a token.
• Bait-and-Switch: As the news of The Sword's theft becomes known to Kanzen, he and his councilors agree to manufacture a replacement/fake so that once their clan's young lord has his attainment ceremony, a sword would be a part of it. They reason that since The Sword is 80 old and so greatly cared for by the clan, nobody except them may be able to tell the real one from the fake. Once the fake one is available, he sends it through Kagemaru and his ninja to Heishiro to convince him that they've gotten the real sword back and his pursuit of Kazamatsuri is no longer of any importance. But in order to convince the stubborn Heishiro to depart, Falcon lies that his father had a heart attack and may be on his death bed. Mizoguchi gets Heishiro a horse so that his travel will be swift, however, midway on the journey, Heishiro stops to talk with two fellow clansmen about his father's health. One of them claims that there is nothing wrong with Kanzen's health having given him quite a hard time for a slight failure in his duties. Instantly, Heishiro figures out it was a scheme and returns to Mizoguchi to pursue Kazamatsuri further.
• Barefoot Poverty: Mizoguchi and Koharu seem to be in this situation, while they both have straw sandals, neither has the traditional tabi socks. It comes across as a bit odd for Heishiro that they seem to be comfortable living as frugally as they are for a "ronin" and his daughter and makes him question how is it that Mizoguchi is not seeking appointement to a station. Koharu mentions that it has been this way since she was a small child and that she also does not wish for her father to pick up the sword.
• Better than Sex: Kazamatsuri seems to treats the path of the sword as this, he comes around but too late.
• Big Bad: Kazamatsuri, who stole the samurai sword gifted to the clan by the Shogun. As if to emphasize the Big Bad part, he is taller than all the other characters.
• Big Eater: Heishiro does this often throughout the story, he enjoys Koharu's cooking a lot.
• Bloodless Carnage: None of the deaths featured have even a drop, instead, what blood we do see, serves another purpose entirely.
• Cargo Envy: Lady Okatsu alludes to having this sentiment with regards to the stolen sword that Kazamatsuri seems to take everywhere with him.
• The Ditz: Gosuke, who initially convinces Kazamatsuri to go to Lady Okatsu's for some gambling, and then for some light entertainment.
• Dragon Lady: Lady Okatsu is introduced this way — with an Extreme Close-Up on her lips smoking a pipe, and another at one of her bare feet being massaged. She lays on her belly on a bed and the blind masseur even starts working up on her legs and beneath her clothes. Much to her disgust, she kicks him away making him comment on her shapes being a delight to touch.
• Evil Wears Black: One guess only for who does this in the story.
• Heartbreak and Ice Cream: Heishiro seeks placating himself in food because he won't be left to have things done his way.
• Flashback-Montage Realization: Kazamatsuri has one where he recalls his encounter with Mizoguchi, who convinced him to stop his rampage but does it very skillfully without drawing his sword and deflecting all attacks.
• Lemony Narrator: Done by Heishiro:
  • He starts the film by introducing himself as the character on screen, shown to be practicing sword drills among bamboo trees, and then he points out that the story took place 300 years ago — after a brief intro sequence, he discusses the time and setting of the story and the "ronin" that changed his life significantly up to the present day — cue a digital display of years decreasing in number down to 1696.
  • Once he gets going to retrieve The Sword, his friends join him with the narration saying their names and how they are compared by the townfolk with the Three Stooges, but he doesn't personally see it as them being that foolish — this all happens as the three of them are shown running around like fools in an attempt to overtake eachother on a stretch of road.
  • Around the conclusion, Heishiro's narration pops in to remind us that one of the "ronin" was Kazamatsuri, and being defeated, in the end, jumping off the cliff into the water. Heishiro comes to the cathartic realization that Kazamatsuri showed no anger or resentment. As he is shown praying for Kazamatsuri, the narration continues that he felt a great power watching over him from above, concluding that when one abandons ego and obstinacy one can accept the gods and truly begin to love.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Koharu and Lady Okatsu — but both in portrayal. The former wears plain kimonos and has her hair tied up in a headwrap, she occupies herself with cleaning, cooking, farmwork and seeking medicinal plant across the countryside as if she is a busy bee. The latter has more expensive and elaborate kimonos and has an orchid in her hair, she partakes in some indulgences like smoking and massages and later in gambling and hostess duties for her guests, she doesn't leave her establishment as if it's her fox den.
• MacGuffin: The Sword, it was given to Heishiro's clan by the Shogun 80 years prior to the story's setting. It is a prized possession by the clan that has its lord hiring Kazamatsuri to take care of it. Once Kazamatsuri steals it and runs away with it, Heishiro's father Kanzen, works up a plan to create a fake/replacement sword because their clans's young lord is approaching his attainment ceremony and The Sword needs to be part of it. Of course, the clan sends men to try and retrieve The Sword but Heishiro wants to go too so he can prove his skill toward his clan and father... in spite of all his father's dissuasive efforts. Kanzen then asks Kagemaru to send ninja to look after him. Once the fake/replacement sword has been made, Kanzen has Kagemaru send it to Heishiro to convince him to return home. At the end, in Kazamatsuri confrontation with Mizoguchi, the latter manages to disarm the former of his main weapon, only making him grab the real sword and use it instead. Finally, once Kazamatsuri was cornered on the cliff edge, and he jumped off, he took the real sword with him in the water below, it is then that Falcon reveals it is the real one and the fake one was just a Bait-and-Switch. They find the sheath for it on a tree, and The Sword somewhere in the water where it is retrieved by Heishiro.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Heishiro, himself, in the intro narration mentions it is a good name — heishi means soldier — given his Nosebleeds and his notable Spit Take once they are disclosed by Koharu to her father... perhaps Freud Was Right. He also doesn't take no for an answer and wishes to kill Kazamatsuri, not even considering that a simple request for The Sword might get it back.
  • Rannosuke Kazamatsuri. Rannosuke means blank pillar... and he is a big man.
  • Okatsu, means live life, and it is interesting to note that she seems to dance and striptease for Kazamatsuri during a dance routine.
  • Kanzen means complete, he is Heishiro father, a high rank in the clan, and he also recommends his son get a companion ''bird'' to ease his impulsiveness.
• The Mentor: Hanbei Mizoguchi becomes this for Heishiro.
• Nosebleeds: Heishiro has this several times in Koharu's presence, especially because he has been looking at her washing her bare legs, catching a glimpse of her cleavage, and starting to consider his own feelings toward her beyond simple attraction.
• Monochromatic Impact Shot: All kills that happen are shown this way, but instead, they are black and red.
• Motor Mouth: After Koharu's discloses that they fell in the forest and she shows her father, Mizoguchi, how she leaned on Heishiro through a pose — prompts a quick fire explanation given by Heishiro about Not What It Looks Like but describing that they were out picking flowers, slipped and took a tumble in the forest and even held eachother once they were covered in mud.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Three instances:
  • The most suspicious of Kazamatsuri, of the two clansmen that give Kazamatsuri the task of looking out for The Sword, walks in on him while he is looking at The Sword itself, he starts rambling that he knew something was strange about Kazamatsuri and, witnessing it, he is sure that he planned to steal it all along. Kazamatsuri denies it by stating that he simply wanted to look at it. The clansman starts calling him a liar and draws his sword attacking him repeatedly, only making Kazamatsuri kill him in self-defence — not much for Kazamatsuri to do after that, except play on the clansman's suspicions.
  • Mizoguchi goes to talk to Kazamatsuri to try and settle the matter about The Sword peacefully. But the men at Lady Okatsu's think he is out for revenge and try to push him out. Gosuke grabs Mizoguchi's sword by mistake and falls on his back, only managing to unsheathe it a bit — this causes all the men to pick up swords and attack Mizoguchi who does his best to dissuade them non-violently. He then puts a stop to it all and says he will return once Kazamatsuri is not indisposed and leaves. But his prowess has been witnessed from the back by Kazamatsuri who later seeks out a duel between them.
  • Lady Okatsu, after being convinced by Falcon to poison Kazamatsuri's drink in exchange for 1000 ryo, she serves him some sake with it. Before Kazamatsuri takes his first sip, he asks her if she would marry him, and assures her he is serious about it. He then drinks a bit, notices something odd, asks for another cup and then forcefully kisses Okatsu and transfers the poisoned sake into her mouth, making her spit it out. Just as it looked like he was about to leave her and move on, she starts to insult him, draws a dagger and tries to stab him to get the promised reward, with fatal results for her.
• Older and Wiser: The story has three:
  • Mizoguchi — Who has given up the sword in order to make amends with a past deed. He has instead saught to lead an ordinary, conflict-free, life.
  • Kanzen — Who acknowledges that they are living in peaceful times and he quickly comes up with a plan to forge a fake sword to replace the stolen one and putting the whole matter behind them with no further victims.
  • Lady Okatsu — Who seeks to expand her shady business to gain more power — claiming that while the normal world is a peaceful one, those like her in the underworld always seek more of what is denied to them.
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations: At one point when Kazamatsuri and Lady Okatsu are together, he questions how is it that someone could be hiding away in the backalleys of society. This has her saying that she hides away because she is not an upstanding member of society, but as she finishes her remark she notices that Kazamatsuri wasn't talking to her.
  Kazamatsuri: So skillful, but hidden away in the boondocks. Why?
  Lady Okatsu: Because I'm a member of the underworld.
  Totally different from those solid citizens.
  Kazamatsuri: Hanbei Mizoguchi, a master swordsman, indeed.
  Why do you hide yourself away?
  An era of peace? Damned Shogunate!
• Romantic Spoonfeeding: Koharu feeds Heishiro when he is unable to, later, once he gets better, she cooks for him Through His Stomach because she seems to like him too.
• Ronins: Two stand out:
  • Kazamatsuri — initially taken in by the clan, he later stole The Sword from, due to his prowess in mock combat.
  • Mizoguchi — and by self-enforced choice too, because, as Koharu says, he doesn't want to be appointed to a station that will make him use his sword.
• Running Gag:
  • Of the literal "running" kind, as Heishiro is shown several times throughout the film setting out running down a straight path toward the camera, each time experiencing some sort of performance failure.
  • Kagemaru, Kanzen's ninja aid, enters the scene from the ceiling, each time taking a moment to get his bearings from being nauseous.
    Kanzen: Kagemaru!
    * Kagemaru drops down from a hatch in the ceiling. *
    Kagemaru: Hai!
    Kanzen: Enough of this dropping from the ceiling!
    Kagemaru: Yes, sir, but old ninja habits are hard to break.
• Ninja: Falcon and Red Shadow are only the two ninja selected from a large group shown to be training in a dojo, headed by Kagemaru.
• Show Some Leg: Done unintentionally by Koharu to wash her legs, it non the less has the same blood-boiling effect on Heishiro.
• Single-Stroke Battle: Whoever Kazamatsuri dispatches throughout the story, it is done this way. Of course, Mizoguchi being a Master Swordsman, he is able to do this too, most noteworthy is when he swiftly takes out all the members of a dojo in exchange for some money.
• Subtext: A particular stealthy one between Mizoguchi and Heishiro as the latter has told the former that he Can't Hold His Liquor. Once Heishiro, and his hot-headedness, is stopped from going after Kazamatsuri, by being hit in the stomach and given a large amount of sake by Mizoguchi.
  * Heishiro holding his head in pain *
  Koharu: He's in suffering.
  Mizoguchi: I had no choice, I made him throw up so he would just need to sleep. * hits Heishiro's back. *
  * Heishiro turns slowly to look at Mizoguchi, who nods knowingly and emphatically. *
• Those Two Guys:
  • Shintaro Suzuki and Kurosawa Tadasuke — Heishiro's two best friends growing up, who accompany him to get back The Sword.
    • One scene has them resting and discussing the fact that Tadasuke is about to get married. This prompts Suzuki in asking Heishiro if he had any women while he was away in Edo, the latter discloses that he did not and in embarrassment runs away, only making Suzuki and Tadasuke to tell him that they haven't either.
    • Later, as the three of them are cleaning up, they discuss Kazamatsuri's possible motives for stealing The Sword as well as how he looks like and how tall he is. The moment Kazamatsuri's "Wanted!" Poster pops up, after looking at it and commenting on his hideousness, Heishiro tears it up in a fit of rage and throws it in a nearby water, prompting, hilariously, the other two to throw a stone, a few branches and about half of a tree in the water with it.
  • Falcon and Red Shadow — the two ninja sent to retrieve Heishiro and the stolen sword.
    • In a Friendly Fire mishap during the confrontation between Kazamatsuri vs. Heishiro, Suzuki and Tadasuke, one of them accidentally stabs Tadasuke in the back with a thrown dagger.
    • They don't do much except move the plot forward by being Audience Surrogates to what is happening with Kazamatsuri.
• Took a Level in Badass: Or rather, stone throwing, as it quickly becomes apparent to Mizoguchi that Heishiro can't possibly survive a one-on-one fight with Kazamatsuri, so he teaches him this skill instead.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: Kazamatsuri has one in the beginning as he is looking at a fire, it shows how he was looking at The Sword for which he was appointed to take care of for the clan. Suddenly, one of the two clansmen that has given him this responsibility, walks in and starts accusing him of trying to steal The Sword. Kazamatsuri denies it but the clansman doesn't beleive him and starts attacking him. Despite Kazamatsuri repelling each of the clansman's attacks, he persists only leaving him with a fatal solution.
• Villains Act, Heroes React: Well, suffice to say, Kazamatsuri bought the whole story and its conclusion onto himself.
• Yakuza: Just as Lady Okatsu is introduced, one of her men pops in to say that a rivaling operation has taken on an enforcer. Though it is not mentioned explicitly, given its period and setting, Lady Okatsu runs a bakuto enterprise — involved in gambling. She runs Chō-Han/dice games, and even has the three dealers covered with tattoos and wearing the sarashi wrap throughout.

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