What It's About:

Zatoichi (Kitano) is a blind masseur who arrives in a feudal Japanese village where young ronin Hattori (Asano) has thrown in with a criminal gang preying upon the locals. Unbeknownst to Hattori, the quiet, mild-mannered, and completely unsighted Zatoichi is also a master swordsman, and soon geisha sisters O-Kinu (Daike) and O-Sei (Tachibana) prevail upon Zatoichi to avenge a ten-year-old atrocity.

Why I Love It:

Kitano’s wry twist on the beloved samurai character (inaugurated in the sixties by Shintaro Katsu) is edgy and full of attitude, especially as Zatoichi dispatches his enemies in a bloody torrent of precision swipes. Not unlike Eastwood’s The Man With No Name, Kitano’s silver-haired avenger is unflappable and almost invincible in his efforts to out-do wrongdoers. Kitano’s biggest coup is the way he marries lightning-quick sword action with bits of stone-faced slapstick. As an added bonus, “Sonatine” is a solid yakuza thriller with the same mix of feverish action and Tarantino-esque bluster.