Actor-director Hitoshi Matsumoto is back with his third film, Scabbard Samurai. As always, he’s making another expecting move here. After his mockumentary about a lonely japanese super-anti-hero, his mysticial yet absurd symbol(ic) tale, he’s now apparently trying to do a sweet & tender comedy set in feudal Japan. With an old samurai with glasses who deserted his clan with his ashamed daughter, but got caught. To be released, he has 30 days to make laugh a young Lord. Hm?
Yep, unlike his previous films, Scabbard Samurai looks way more like a straightforward and unsurprising story. But still, Matsumoto has some nice ideas in his head. Like choosing Takaaki Nomi to play the old samurai. A japanese amateur actor discovered few years ago by Matsumoto himself, who put him in one of his TV comedy show. And as you can see in the following trailer, Nomi has an incredible fun yet weird/ridiculous attitude.
Also, Scabbard Samurai feels like a sincere touching story, between the father/daughter relationship, there’s the challenge to drag a smile out from a very young Lord. As if Hitoshi Matsumoto were thinking about the very art of entertaining, or making some statement about the crazy game shows seen on TV. Is this trailer giving false leads, or just showing too much footage?
Coming out in Japan on June 11, 2011.
Via NipponCinema, Official website
Aka Saya-Zamurai,『さや侍』
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The Next Kitano:
http://jasongray.blogspot.com/2011/04/japans-next-great-director-hitoshi.html
indeed this movie explicitly saying to all of us that; “are you laughing at the real meaning of entertainment from all what you’ve seen? or you pretend to laugh because you enjoy the deep meaning of taking out the soul from a human being?”
i still regret there’s not too much users sharing the OST.
i wish somebody could share it as well.