Gojo reisenki: Gojoe (2000)

Director:

Sogo Ishii

Writers:

Sogo Ishii (writer)
Goro Nakajima (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | History

Plot:

Benkei, a master fighter and killer, vows never to take another life after his conversion to Buddhism...

Plot Keywords:

1180s | 12th Century | Baby | Blindness | Blood Ballet

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Tadanobu Asano	...	Shanao
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Tetsukichi
Daisuke Ryu	...	Benkei
Masakatsu Funaki	...	Tankai
Jun Kunimura	...	Suzaku-hougan
Urara Awata	...	Asagiri
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wui Sin Chong	...	Shoshinbo
Takato Hosoyamada
Ryo Kase	...	Kamuro
Dave Mallow	...	Tankai (voice: English version)
Naruki Matsukawa

Also Known As:

Gojoe (Japan) (short title)
Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

Canada:138 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Argentina:13

Company:

Suncent CinemaWorks

Trivia:

The bridge-burning at the end of the film had to be shot three times, twice in long shot and once in close-up. To allow the bridge to be re-lit, it was wrapped in thick fabric from top to bottom.

Quotes:

[the opening]
Narrator: With the deterioration of the aristocracy and the rise of the warrior class began a brutal era. Long wars between the Heike and Genji ended with the Heike ruling the land. The people hoped for a lasting peace, but found only pestilence and disaster. And when began the nightly slaughter of Heike warriors at Kyoto's Gojoe Bridge... there rose the fear that the capital's festering misfortune had awoken a demon.

Ambitous, metaphysical samurai drama

Another attempt by modern Japanese directors to redefine the chambara genre. Successful, and not, in varying degrees.

Buddhist monk has a vision that he is to slay a legendary (and very active) demon at the Gojoe bridge in order to attain enlightenment. While not at the forefront, Buddhist thought is at the heart of this movie, much like Kurosawa's "Ran". It probably what made the movie the most interesting to me although it's nowheres near "Ran's" league.

Stylish visual direction and excellent photography keep the movie mostly interesting throughout the two hour and eighteen minute length. The lead actors are uniformly excellent. The music is really good. The two weaknesses are the story and the fight scenes. The movie drags in the middle which could have been fixed by some prudent editing. And the fight scenes are mostly filmed in blurry close-ups. This works for most of the film but the finale feels like a cheat. Another recent film like this is Tsui Hark's "Seven Swords", great film but the promised fight scenes are disappointing. Asano really doesn't move like a sword wielding demon, his acting is great but he would be an extra in a traditional chambara fight scene.

Good movie, you'll probably find it interesting just don't expect traditional sword fights.