Sasuke Sarutobi (Koji Takahashi, SANSHIRO SUGATA) is a legendary samurai of the Sanada clan who is tracking Toyotomi clan spy Takanosuke Nojiri (Kei Sato, THE SWORD OF DOOM). One day he meets the spy Mitsuaki Inamura (Rokko Toura, ZATOICHI AND THE CHESS EXPERT), who is trying to sell information to Nojiri and his master Shigeyuki Koremura (Eitaro Ozawa, SAMURAI 1: MUSASHI MIYAMOTO), which lead them to the whereabouts of leading Tokugawa spy Tatewaki Koriyama (Eiji Okada, LADY SNOWBLOOD).
Sasuke wants nothing to do with Mitsuaki’s plan because he fears that it will lead to another war, especially after he finds out that Mitsuaki has ratted out a Christian samurai named Yashiro Kobayashi (Yasunori Irikawa) in an effort to sneak by the cruel local magistrate Genba Kuni (Minoru Hodaka, MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS). While on his mission, Sasuke runs into Tokugawa assassin Sakon Takatani (Tetsuro Tamba, THE STORY OF RICKY), who wants to find Tatewaki for his own reasons. Sasuke also gets involved with Jinnai-Kazutaka Horikawa (Seiji Miyaguchi, THE SEVEN SAMURAI), an older statesmen who seems to be someone Sasuke cannot trust.
Throughout the film, Sasuke will find out that nothing is as it seems. He is a warrior who is tired of fighting and wants to keep the current peace. He meets and falls for the beautiful orphan Omiyo (Jitsuko Yoshimura, ONIBABA), but after he is implemented in two unexpected murders, he must delve deeper into the current strife.
For the most part, the film works like a combination of a spy intrigue film and a kung-fu flick. The exaggerated fight sequences will look familiar to those who have seen classic kung fu or Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL series. At times, the double crossing and various warring clans become confusing. However, Sasuke remains at the center of the plot, leading us through the story.
Director Masahiro Shinoda raises the film with a keen eye for visual flare and production design. The film looks great. The concluding battle in the fog is a wonderful example of great action timing and setting, even if a deus ex machina ends up ruining it a little. Sometimes, the characters are secondary to the complex plot. I was hoping for the emotional depth of Kihachi Okamoto’s KILL!, but it never came.
Sasuke is a stoic character who we learn very little about, but care about nonetheless because we want to discover the truth same as he does. Additionally, the film has a subtle message that once you are a warrior you can never escape violence once you have enter that world. In the end, SAMURAI SPY is a stylish samurai intrigue tale that succeeds to draw you in, even if there are times you have no clue what is going on.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
