13 Assassins

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Jûsan-nin No Shikaku (13 Assassins) (2010)

June 8th 2011 06:34

The prolific Japanese maverick auteur Takashi Miike abandons his usually egocentric out-there approach to thematic content and stylistics and instead channels one of his country’s most celebrated genres: the samurai epic. Not only does he go all traditional on us, but he also tackles a remake (the original was released in 1963). 13 Assassins (2010) is Miike’s most elegant looking and formally structured movie since Audition (1999), although Audition certainly challenged traditional horror narratives. 13 Assassins may seem traditional in scope, but Miike still injects his own penchant for cruelty and ultra-violence, although not to quite the graphic extreme as say Ichi the Killer (2001).

Koji Yakusho as Shinzaemon

A megalomaniacal Lord indulges his vicious and utterly reckless streak with the assassination of his half-brother and fiancée, thus setting off an ambitious and deadly mission to prevent the Lord from continuing to exercise his abuse of power and his hunger for chaos and violence. Shot in gorgeous darkened hues Miike’s narrative first unfolds in the shadowy, claustrophobic confines of a traditional village. The first half of the movie deals with the recruiting of the group of assassins that will embark on the perilous, essentially suicidal, mission. The level of intrigue and characterization during this extended act is beautifully handled with stunning performances and an unassuming, yet sumptuous visual style.

Goro Inagaki as Lord Naritsugu

Yusuke Iseya as Koyota

There is a psychopath running amok and he happens to be an angel of death, a Lord. He must be stopped and it is up to aging samurai Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho) and his band of trained killers to do the dirty work. The Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira (Goro Inagaki) doesn’t just embrace violence and cruelty; he smothers them with a frightening lust. The second half of 13 Assassins deals with the samurai’s interception of a fortress and their ambush of Naritsugu’s formidable army whose path takes them through the fort that has been booby-trapped by Shinzaemon and his men. A sensational battle sequence takes up the movie’s last forty minutes, and while its level of bloodshed may seem mild compared to Ichi the Killer, there is vivid evidence of a filmmaker at the peak of his game in terms of mise-en-scene; the editing, and direction in particular.

Process of selection

The themes of bravery and courage are synonymous with the samurai epic and Takashi Miike handles them with consummate ease. There is a duty and sacrifice and corruption on a high level. It is the 19th Century and these northern Asian masters do not practice the way of the sword (though still cherished and championed) with the same frequency as it used be in the previous centuries. Still they tackle the combat with much verve and passion regardless of the dying art … Dying being the operative word.

Battle royale

The character of Koyata (Yusuke Iseya) is an intriguing and puzzling one. He is the wild card, the loner the assassins find trapped in netting, hanging from a tree. He is cocky and amusing, and he tags along, amused by the formal mission of the samurai soldiers. Apparently he is an allusion to the Japanese Monkey God, Sun Wukong, and an immortal. He provides the movie with comic relief, but also with a confusing final scene alluding to his mortality.

Two assassins amidst hundreds of bodies

I’ve not seen the original 1963 movie, but I can’t help but feel that Takashi Miike’s remake would be on the safe side, meaning a remake that takes the essence of the original and ups the ante in the right places, while at the same time doesn’t compromise by being show-offy in the wrong places. Miike is known for his self-indulgence and also for churning out low-budget schlock. But it is when he uses strong production values and couples this with his fantastic casting that his movies become something much more powerful and affecting. With 13 Assassins Miike combines these high caliber elements with more traditional storytelling, and historical relevance. The result is one of the best movies of the year, as a socio-political drama and as a visceral action flick it has the sharpness of a samurai’s razor-edged sword.

Here’s the US trailer:

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