Love and Honor (Japan)

The third in the series of films from this director following The Hidden Blade and The Twilight Samurai. As in the previous two films this tells a story of Samurai that differs from the types of movies you may have caught on weekend TV. It's not about the fighting but living within that structure in feudal Japan. In this case the film centers around a young lower ranking samurai who is working as a food taster in the castle of their lord. He's part of the group that confirms if the master's food has been poisoned. At an early point in the film he's blinded and almost dies doing his duty. The question then becomes how will he and his wife survive when he can no longer do anything of value within the structures his lives. As it turns out the disability coverage for an injured samurai appears to be even worse than that of the average American. His wife is forced to make some very difficult choices in her quest to keep the family together. Her acts taken out of love come in conflict with his sense of honor, setting up a conflict about balancing these needs throughout the film. I liked this film quite a bit - in keeping with my experiences with the other 2 films in the trilogy. If you liked either of those you're likely to enjoy this one. If you haven't seen the others there's no real need to go in order so you might give this a try if you can catch it on a big screen. The film making is quite beautiful showing rural Japan visually as well as aurally as the seasons change over the course of the movie.