ZATOICHI
Directed, Written, & Edited by: Takeshi Kitano.
Produced by: Masayuki Mori & Tsunehisa Saito.
Director of Photography: Katsumi Yanagishima.
Music by: Keiichi Suzuki.
Released by: Miramax.
Language: Japanese.
Country of Origin: Japan. 116 min. Rated: R.
With: Beat Takeshi, Tadanobu Asano, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike & Ittoku Kishibe.

Director and actor (Beat) Takeshi Kitano takes on the mantle of Zatoichi, a popular Japanese film and TV hero. Set in the age of the samurai, this roving blind masseur finds refuge in a village tyrannized by a murderous gang. The Ginzo gang, extorting protection money from the town’s inhabitants, is like the yakuza, but using swords, not guns. However, the bleached-blonde Zatoichi is no ordinary masseur; he’s also a master swordsman. In this straightforward story - as thin as a sword’s blade - it’s the defending Zatoichi who takes on the gang, leading to a showdown with the powerful henchman and samurai for hire, Hattori (Asano). Joining forces with Zatoichi are two murderous geisha girls out on their own personal quest for revenge. It is their plight and the flashbacks of their journey - from survivors of a massacre to wandering prostitutes - that is the most compelling element of the film.

Kitano, deadpan as ever, is like the Japanese John Wayne. He’s easily upstaged by Daigoro Tachibana & Yuko Daike as the two geishas. With sword fights galore and geysers of blood, Zatoichi is sake-flavored popcorn. Its strong female protagonists and fast-as-lightning swordplay will certainly appeal to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fans. Most rewarding of all is the grand finale - a toe-tapping, anachronistic send-off. Kent Turner
June 3, 2004