13 Assassins

Movie: 13 Assassins

Genre: Samurai, Subtitles

Synopsis: The movie takes place in Japan in the early 1800’s.  There is peace throughout Japan and the era of the Samurai is drawing to a close.  The half-brother of the reigning Shogun is a bloodthirsty sadist whose actions threaten to plunge Japan back into war. A noble decides that for the good of Japan, the Shogun’s half-brother must be killed.  He organizes a group of 13 Samurai to accomplish this.  The odds are stacked against them, as the half-brother travels with a huge armed escort at all times.  There is a climactic battle between the thirteen Samurai and 200 body guards.

My two cents: This was not the cheesy Samurai movie I expected.  The idea of never disobeying the rulers is so deeply engrained that when, for the good of the country, someone disobeys the ruler . . . it is understood that the transgressor will commit hara-kiri.  These 13 Samurai understood this, but were willing to put their lives on the line for the greater good.  The deeds of the half-brother of the Shogun were breathtaking in the crass disregard for human life that they demonstrated.  This is probably the best movie out of Japan that I can recall seeing.

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