At River's Edge (2011) (original) (raw)
Synopsis
A samurai Sakunosuke gets an order from clan chamberlain to kill another samurai who is married with his own younger sister. As a loyal samurai he has to accept the mission even though he has inner conflicts.
Cast
Popular reviews
Quite enjoyed my first Fujisawa adaptation Sword of Desperation and while that film offered much more intrigue, action, and threat, I think At River’s Edge was even better. Another somber slow-burn jidaigeki, sculpted with laser-focused intent towards realizing its heavy dramatic quagmire. Duty, family, love, and friendship are twisted into a clan’s ruthless calculation of tasking a swordsman with killing an old comrade…who’s also his sister’s husband. Oh, and the samurai’s apprentice who’s come along on the mission also used to love said sister…
Tetsuo Shinohara directs that brilliant premise with compelling simplicity and restraint. After the opening minutes of set-up, clan complexities are kept to minimum to allow for those dynamics and histories to fill the duo’s journey across gorgeous countryside. Flashbacks and strong performances reinforce the solemn drama so when the fateful time comes, the personal stakes feel immense. The inevitable clashing-blade climax is an elegant stunner of technical and tense swordplay chess between equally matched skill.
#Japanuary 2022 - Nr. 5
At River’s Edge basiert auf einem Roman des Autors Shuhei Fujisawa, dessen andere Geschichten in den Werken The Twilight Samurai (2002), The Hidden Blade (2004) oder Love and Honor (2006) verfilmt wurden.
Tetsuo Shinohara inszeniert einen unaufdringlichen und geradlinigen Samuraifilm, der von den inneren Konflikten des Samurai Sakunosuke (Noriyuki Higashiyama) handeln. Von seinem Clan erhält er den Befehl ein abtrünniges Clanmitglied in einem Duell zu töten. Dabei handelt es sich nicht nur um einen Mann, den er respektiert, sondern auch um den Ehemann seiner jüngeren Schwester Tazu (Rinko Kikuchi).
Der Film hat eine atemberaubende Cinematografie und bietet mehrere wunderschön gefilmte Landschaftaufnahmen von Flussläufen, Wäldern und Bergpässen in Japan. Hinzu kommt ein meisterhafter Soundtrack, der die…
Masterpiece. Quiet; a bit somber, beautiful cinematography and score. The only reason I know this film exists is because it came up when I was trying to find The Twilight Samurai. Which ended up being one of my favorite Samurai films ever. Again, that would be the case. This, along with The Twilight Samurai are adapted from novels and short stories written by Shuhei Fujisawa. I love this film and I know it's mad underrated because people simply don't know it exists. Another tale of a skilled samurai torn between honor, duty, personal morals and his mastery of the sword becoming somewhat of a burden on himself. Sometimes you have to do things that are incredibly difficult. The main character,…
Imagine having to kill your best friend who is married to your sister because if other assassins do it, they would instinctually kill her too.
This movie is a drama that completely avoids melodrama, it’s very cold while still being emotional and captivating. The main character gives a stoic minimal performance, we don’t see his internal thoughts (outside of flashbacks) but yet I could completely feel his internal struggle.
This is also a very interesting insight into the lives of commoners/samurais at that time.
Yōji Yamada pretty much set the standard and established the template for a successful Shūhei Fujisawa adaptation with his first cinematic stab at the Yamagata novelist's legacy. The Twilight Samurai was the first, and still the best, of all the Fujisawa adaptations so far. Tetsuo Shinohara made an honorable attempt at muscling in on Yamada's turf in 2008, with the fine Yamazakura, falling only a little bit short. Three years later, he had another go, and this time the results are even better!
Once again set in the fictional Unasaka Han (situated somewhere in Yamagata prefecture), At the River's Edge tells a familiar tale of an honorable samurai tasked with a morally challenging mission. In this particular case, when the…
Classic Fujisawa. Surprise hit and one of the best samurai films I've ever seen. The plot and premise is genius.
فيلم على حافة النهر يقدم قصة ساموراي وكلت اليه مهمة قتل احد الهاربين من العشيرة مع رفضه الا انه وجب عليه فعلها ومن مايزيد من صعوبة القرار ان يكون الهارب زوج اخته وان يتحمل هذا الحمل الثقيل على ظهره وتبدا رحلته لتنفيذ حكم القصاص
بهذا الفيلم نجد انه المخرج يركز على رحلة البطل مع احد خدم العشيرة ويظهر ذكرياته وعلاقته مع الاشخاص الذين ربما يكون هو سبب بانهاء حياتهم ويفكر بكل لحظة وحتى انه لو يعلم انه القرار خاطئ لكن ما باليد حيله وعليه تنفيذ الامر ونجد ايضاً عرض وجمالية للتضاريس وبالانهار المحيطة بالجبال والاشجار والغابات في كل زواية هناك جمالية لاحقتنا بهذي الرحلة والطريق الطويل ومع انه الاحداث لن تكن كثيرة الا انها جميلة بمعانيها
الفيلم جسد بيئة رائعة…
[First Review on 19/9/2013 at Japanese Film Festival 2013 for Cinema Online]
Overall: 3.5 Out of 5
Cast: 3.5 Out of 5
Plot: 3.5 Out of 5
Effects: 3.5 Out of 5
Cinematography: 3.5 Out of 5
Watch this if you liked: “The Last Ronin” and Samurai films.
When Sakunosuke (Noriyuki Hagashiyama) of the Inui household is summoned to meet his feudal lord of the Unasaka clan, he is bequeathed with the task of finding and executing Morie Sakuma (Kataoka Ainosuke); a former samurai of the clan who has abandoned his duties and is reportedly hiding in a distant outpost.
The assignment is not one that is easy for Sakunosuke to accept because Sakuma is his brother-in-law, and there is…
A beautiful and mostly very calm movie with nice scenery.
I really enjoyed it even though i had some problems with the historic japanese spoken from the clan lords, but even without getting all the details of the politics the conflict of the main character is nicely portraied from the actors even without directly speaking their feelings.