Skip to main content

13 Assassins



Initial release: 25 September 2010 (Japan)


Director: Takashi Miike

Language: Japanese

13 Assassins is one of those remakes which stood close to the original in every perspective and delivered exactly what we expect from a Samurai movie.

The plot is set in 1844 (Edo) concentrating on Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira and his cruelties. If not for his human form, Naritsugu would've been a literal wild beast! He raped and killed his own subjects using the privilege of being the Shogun's half brother. The movie starts with a Feudal lord committing Harakiri after losing his entire family to Naritsugu's savagery. Shogun's minister Doi Toshitsura took this matter seriously and decided to asassinate Naritsugu to prevent his promotion to Shogun's council. He transfers this burden to Shimada Shinzaemon, who once served the previous Shogun and above all, the only one Doi could trust to complete the task.

The movie starts out slowly as it carefully build the characters and their motives which payed off well in the action packed second half. The sheer brutality in the action choreography is a huge plus point to the narrative itself. The movie never holds back as it move foward with the Katanas splashing blood all over the place. It is also worth noting that they took enough time to develop the characters further, amidst the seemingly never ending chaos, which brilliantly placed the emotional elements in the right place, at the right time.

13 assassins will surely please those who love well placed action set pieces and is a must watch for the ones who crave Samurai cinema. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dragons in Malabar: The Story of a Ming Protectorate in Kerala

Cheena vala (Chinese nets), Cheena chatti (Chinese wok), Cheena bharani (Chinese pots), Cheeni mulaku (Green chillies)...  The handshakes between the Keralites and the Chinese have a history spanning no less than two thousand years. A bustling trade hub even during the Sangam period, the Malabar coast used to boast about some of the important Sea ports on the ancient and mediaeval world maps. However, although a truly cosmopolitan series of coastal trade pockets in the beginning, the split and eventual weakening of the Roman Empire would cause these locations to be under the influence of only two major groups. The Chinese and the Arabs. This shift in character transformed the chaotic bustling of Kollam , Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kochi (Cochin) into an economic AND political theatre of trade wars, well into the period of the European reemergence.  And bustle they did. From horses and spices to silk, jewellery, precious stones and even exotic animals, there was barely anyt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Andaman, Bose and the Bloody Blunder: Why all that could've been, shouldn't be

For Indians of today, the history of the Andaman and Nicobar islands usually springs up as an aching and relevant memory for very particular reasons. The notorious cellular jails of Kalapani operated by the British and the atrocities and controversial political developments associated with them are not mere footnotes in Indian history. They reverberate to this day in nationalist politics and propaganda. However, what's often overlooked is the fact that the Andamanese people too, whether the natives or the descendants of the settlers from the colonial period, had stories to tell. Stories of oppression, liberation, manipulation and collective trauma. Interestingly, that story cannot be solely narrated through the usual critiques of British imperialism. This time, we shall look eastward and witness the consequences of a  blazing sun rising in the Andaman Sea.  The year was 1942, a momentous period that saw the epitome of Axis aggression in both the Pacific and Atlantic fronts. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reimagining India’s Museums: Lessons from China’s Cultural Innovation

According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), a museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets, and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible, and inclusive , museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally, and with the participation of communities , offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection, and knowledge sharing . Expanding on this refined definition of what a Museum is supposed to be, ICOM has discussed the three major pillars of sustainable Museum ecosystems in the rapidly changing world at the recent global conference held in Dubai. Safeguarding Intangible Heritage . The role of the Youth in forging museums of tomorrow. Opportunities for museums to tap into the potential of New Technologies to create new forms of expression, enhance audience engagement, and improve visitor experien...
Post a Comment
Read more