Love and Honor ☯ Japanese Samurai Movie

Original title: 武士の一分 / Bushi No Ichibun
Country: Japan
Year: 2006
Genre: Drama, Romance
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
Language: Japanese
Runtime: 121 min
Companies: Bushi no Ichibun Seisaku Iinkai, Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo
Official site: www.ichibun.jp

Though he is of low rank with modest means, young samurai Mimura Shinnojo (Kimura Takuya) has a fairly happy and stable life with his loving wife Kayo (Dan Rei). All this comes crashing down, however, when Shinnojo, as the lord's food taster, eats poisoned shellfish and becomes blind. Distressed by his inability to support the household, he turns violent and resentful, and even considers ending his own life to redeem his name. At the urging of unsympathetic relatives, Kayo seeks the assistance of captain Shimada Toya (Bando Mitsugoro), who uses his influence to help Shinnojo retain his income and rank. As the rumors begin to get louder, Shinnojo becomes increasingly troubled that he may be losing his wife and honor to another man...

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• Midnight Eye, by Nicholas Rucka
  http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/love-and-honor.shtml
  Love and Honor isn't a bad film at all, but it's not nearly as good as Twilight Samurai. Part of this has to do with what I imply at the start: that the film lacks the inventiveness of the first entry in this cycle; in short, there's an irrelevance to the film even existing.


• The Japan Times, by MARK SCHILLING
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20061208a2.html
  Viewers of the other trilogy films will recognize familiar tropes, including the climactic duel that, true to Yamada's keep-it-real code, has none of the fantastic flash of other films about blind swordsmen, including the "Zatoichi" series. ... That is to say, if you liked the first two films, you'll like this one even more. Cooks tend to improve with practice -- and Yamada's third batch of noodles is his best.
  


• Variety, by RUSSELL EDWARDS
  http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117932744.html?categoryid=2478&cs=1
  Narrative plays out too slowly and methodically for those seeking martial arts thrills, but classic yarn makes for fine storytelling. Yamada's direction is assured and shows no sign of artery hardening.


• The New York Times, by JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
  http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/movies/02love.html?ref=movies
  "Love and Honor," the final episode in Yoji Yamada's samurai trilogy, maintains the grace and resonance of its predecessors as well as their focus on class inequality.


• Lunapark6, by luna6
  http://lunapark6.com/love-and-honor.html
  The movie gets better and better with each passing minute, until you are literally left gripping the armchairs of your seat while watching the final duel between the now blind Shinnojo and the lecherous Shimada Toya. Highly recommended.