Review – Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto

This is the first installment in director Hiroshi Inagaki’s trilogy about the life of the legendary swordsman. I’m glad he made three of them, because this one doesn’t stand particularly well on its own. Our hero is ably played by Toshiro Mifune (who else?), but here he doesn’t get much of a part to work with. The protagonist starts life as a peasant and more than a bit of a jerk, a guy with some natural talent but no discipline. After escaping at the end of the Battle of Sekigahara, Musashi takes to the hills and soon becomes a wanted man. When he returns to his home village, the local priest sees potential in him and locks him in the attic with a library full of classic books rather than turning him over to the authorities. After three years, he emerges a wiser man and dedicated samurai. All this is great set-up, but then the movie ends. I should also pause to gripe that many of the swordfights take place at night in dimly-lit locations, which diminishes their impact. So at this point the best I can say is that I’m anxiously awaiting the second installment. Mildly amusing