“Sword of Desperation” (“Hisshiken torisashi”) portrays the life of Sanzaemon Kanemi (Toyokawa Etsushi), a highly skilled swordsman appointed as chief protector to his lord. While financial ranks are widely drawn the lord’s concubine Renko sways his decisions without constraint or conscience as her rather selfish wishes and intentions bring about frivolous spending, taxes raised beyond reason and cuts in budgets creating an ever increasing tension and uprising amongst the people. When opposition against the lord fueled by Renko leads to executions of the innocent who speak out not even a close kin of the lord is able to forge a change of heart in his recent government decisions. With concerns and struggles ever growing Sanzaemon assassinates Renko and expects immediately to be punished by beheading but instead learns of the lord’s wishes that he instead be sentenced to a year of house arrest. There, Sanzaemon’s niece Rio (Ikewaki Chizuru) while unsure of Sanzaemon’s intentions in killing Renko acts as care giver to Sanzaemon with an unconditional love for him.
The film beautifully and through thoughtful pace unfurls a tapestry of Sanzaemon’s life as seen through seamless transitions moving from present to past in a constant flow shining an ever growing light upon the reasoning and truth which has come to pass leading to the present. The flashbacks give the viewer a deeper understanding and engagement to the lead characters and their personal life situations with Rio in particular being endeared to alongside Sanzaemon and as the present day 1 years house arrest ends Sanzaemon yet again is met with a twist of fate as he is now ordered by his lord to return to his former position as chief protector with his complete financial standings also returned….lending to an inevitable deception, suspicion and ultimately betrayal~.
I can’t place enough emphasis upon the overall production, as sets, wardrobe, dialog and complete action sequences were shot meticulously throughout even as the natural beauty in Japan’s scenery provided an undeniable essence to each and every scene. Toyokawa Etsushi who’s long been a mainstay of the big screen is at his very best here and Ikewaki Chizuru will easily charm you in a most memorable and endearing role. “Hisshiken torisashi” is one of those films which leaves a most powerful impression upon you even long after you’ve watched…as this unforgettable story so masterfully told reveals itself~. And the title itself holds a means of both revelation as well as a deepened fate not readily seen. Not to be missed.
(Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes)
~“Hisshiken torisashi” (trailer)~
..and how amazingly unusual well awesome is that ear~wax cleaner thingy made especially for this film seen at the end of the trailer?? It made me chuckle a bit…would you like one too? =D
Fantastic review!!! I really enjoy your writing style, MorningBerryz!!! Film looks amazing – I will definitely check it out.
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Thank you~* so much!!! I think you’ll enjoy this film so much!!! It’s so well directed and the individual performances by both Toyokawa Etsushi and Ikewaki Chizuru are so award worthy~*. A can’t miss film for sure ＾ ＾。
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still didn’t get to see it! This will be my reminder!
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“Sword of Desperation” is an amazing film!!!! Please do watch!!! For all of its pacing, storyline , the good actors and actresses and choreography it’s definitely a must see.
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I will soon, I promise: I so much like the culture, and wish I were the time to learn to understand more.
Thank you for your, always kind and inspiring comments, so inducing to more conversation, and am glad That you value so much your heritage: as we know nothing of the future, the past only brought us into the present time, and it still is the only guide in the possible pass we’ll chose to take!
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I love the period films and like you’ve expressed you can learn so much about our early culture from their content. Thank you too so much! You’re always the gentlemen and so very knowledgeable and open, a wonderful conversationalist you are!
p.s. would also recommend “The Hidden Blade.” =)
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Dully noted MorningBerryz (howeveryoucameuponthenameitdoesfityou!) I’m thinking wild raspberries myself, from the top of the mountains, just about as high as the clouds.
I also enjoy, and look forward to our joyous chats, we share so many thinks, even though we are few years apart.
I hope you have a Magnum kind of Hawaii day, with the unique sunset, that you may take, and publish photos of…one of these days…maybe even a sunrise?
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I love our chats too and I’ll try capturing a Hawaiian dawn and dusk when our skies are clear. Oh the nickname came about from the combining of two past musical group loves~♡ ^^…you’re most sweet to say George !! U~n age is nothing but a number =).
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You are so kind, and indeed, even if the the number grows, aren’t we supposed to be an inspiration to others?
Life my dear Morningberryz, is like a stucco worker: he gars a tab of stucco, and throws it against the wall, where just a little, if lucky anything would stick. The rest not only falls to the ground, but it cannot be reused. And that’s hoe walls are covered in stucco, and that’s how life is: we should cherish every opportunity to exchange thoughts, with the very few people we run across in our finite journey on Earth
Thanks for your listening ear! I hope there is something there for you, in fact, I know there is, and I’m happy for it!
Arigato,
George.
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“The film beautifully and through thoughtful pace unfurls a tapestry of Sanzaemon’s life as seen through seamless transitions moving from present to past in a constant flow shining an ever growing light upon the reasoning and truth which has come to pass leading to the present.”, This is a beautiful writing, you sure got a way to express your thoughts, it is impressive!
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Oh I may have my moments of writing…you’re much too kind thank you~♡! I hope you get a chance to watch soon….”The Hidden Blade” may be even a bit superior to this film as great as it is.
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Thanks!
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