Summary:
Samurai Musashi, by now an accomplished swordfighter, finds himself at odds with Sasaki Jokiro, a ronin swordsman, when they are both considered for employment with the Shogun.
My Thoughts:
This is it friends, the final movie in the Samurai trilogy! After “Duel at Ichijoji Temple” had been slightly lacking for me, I wondered what could be in store for the third film. How would this epic journey of a wandering samurai come to a close? Would I regret all the time I had invested in watching this guy walk around the countryside or would I be on eBay looking for knock-off katanas to hang on my wall in a fever pitch to become a samurai myself?
Spoilers Below
This film starts with a scene, not of Musashi, but of Sasaki Jokiro, which you may remember from the second film as the talented swordsman that warned Musashi of the ambush at Ichijoji Temple. He’s looking all introspective near some waterfalls, and we learn that, while he knows he is an excellent swordsman, he’s practically unknown in Japan. He would like that to change. So much so, in fact, that he uses his patented move, the “swallow cut” to… well, cut down a swallow in mid flight. I’ve never tried it but I have to imagine that’s pretty tough to do, so we know this guy means business. To become a great samurai he decides he must kill Musashi Miyamoto.
Meanwhile, Musashi, one year after the events of Ichijoji, is watching a martial arts tournament. Jotaro, his young student, has also stuck around. When a winner of the tournament is announced Musashi is ready to leave but Jotaro, being a youngin’ with no respect, insults the guy who kicked everyone’s butts. I bring this up because we learn that either Musashi knows he doesn’t have to fight every challenger in the world he comes across, or two he lost interest in dueling but enjoys watching the sport. This is important because it shows us that he’s learned things about himself since the first two movies. He even goes out of his way to apologize profusely when called out. Musashi gives a show of a strength and the fued is stopped before it can continue.
Musashi learns from an old man that the Shogun’s combat arms teacher is looking for him, so Musashi and Jotaro head to Edo to find out what that’s all about. And who should find themselves in Edo as well but our ol’ pal Sasaki. He’s got himself into a bit of a duel with one of the lord’s men. Sasaki shows confidence, allowing the man to use a live weapon while he himself uses a wooden sword. The duel commences and man oh man, there’s something about the duel that speaks to me. You might be expecting something flashy and over the top, but no, it’s more like two men frozen in a moment, sizing each other up, waiting for the other to make his move. The tension is so tight it could be cut with a katana! We also have an interesting use of what looks like a handheld shot that is so quick you could blink and miss it. Just a really great scene.
Interestingly, although Sasaki wins the match hands down, because he injured the man in the duel and indeed crippled him, it is decided that Sasaki overdid it. I think this is a hint to those not in the culture that simply winning a duel isn’t what being a samurai is all about. It’s also how you conduct yourself and the decisions you make. Sasaki makes a visit to the now crippled man and from him learns that Musashi is also in discussion for the same position. It’s practically destiny that these two should meet on the field of battle.
Getting back to Musashi, he’s currently staying at Japan’s crappiest inn with his young pal Jutaro. He has taken up wood carving, and we seem him work his wood (I thought we were done making these jokes!) as he becomes lost in memories of his time with Otsu at the end of Samurai II. Musashi becomes a silohuette in a very dramatic and beautiful composite shot, like we are seeing into the very mind of Mr. Samurai. His reverie is interuppted when a disturbance outside draws his attention. Four bodies of samurai lie dead in the streets, each killed in a single stroke. A clue that this could only be the work of one swordsman. Also the fact that the one swordsman posted a sign stating he killed them. It was none other than Sasaki! I wonder if he prepared the sign ahead of time and brought it with him or sat down right there and made it after murdering these four dudes. We may never know.
Either way, Musashi takes it upon himself to return these men to their master at the Obana school in town, but the master denies that these dead men could possibly be his students. I really like this scene because I think Musashi learns how disposable samurai can be in the eyes of others. It’s very disheartening to see honorable samurai disrespected by their own. Musashi takes it upon himself to give these four “unknown” samurai a decent burial, and we see yet another beautiful shot as he contemplates over four freshly dug graves in the light of the setting sun. There’s just a great sense of depth and spacing in this shot. Anyway, speaking of “unknown” samurai, who should show up but Sasaki?
It’s interesting to watch these two men interact with each other, they have immense respect for one another, but they too are very much rivals in every aspect of the word. Sasaki wishes to duel Musashi right then and there, but Musashi, ever more wise these days, wishes to delay the contest, as dueling now might be seen as Musashi defending the honor of the Obana school.
Let’s skip forward a bit here, basically Musashi decides he would rather continue his training than take the job offered by the lord, so he sets out once again, with Jotaro and a new student, Kuma, in tow. Leaving a note for Sasaki, he postponed their duel for one year. In their travels they are harassed by some bandits and decide to make a home in the nearby village. Otsu, the woman Musashi gave up to become a samurai, shows up in the village having been seeking Musashi since he left that fateful day. It’s around this time that I realized my biggest sticking point in this entire trilogy thus far, but it should come as no surprise with anyone versed in cinema from this time period. The sequences involving women are incredibly mellow dramatic. It simplifies love into an easily digestable format, but makes for an incredibly unrealistic set of circumstances involving the relationships of the characters. It’s a product of the time and it’s unavoidable, but it doesn’t age well and it may put off some potential viewers.
But enough about that, this movie is supposed to be about samurai fighting with their swords, not women threatening to commit suicide because men are callous and unloving! However, there is a confrontation between Akemi and Otsu and it just might be the #1 cat fight involving hatchets in all of film history. Fast forward past the village side story, all you need to know is it ends in tragedy because Akemi, the other girl enamoured with Musashi, is a horrible person filled with deceit and betrayal fueled by passion for a man what never loved her. Story of my life!
The year is quickly dwindling and by now Sasaki has become quite successful, however, there is still unfinished business of which to take care. The duel against Musashi has arrived and it’s going down at Ganryu Island! Otsu fears for Musashi, but something has changed in Musashi, and tells her “A wife should smile when she see’s her samurai off”. Talk about a relationship moving quickly! He sets sail for the island where Sasaki waits for him on the beach. The sun begins it’s descent as the stage is set for the final confrontation. The scene is as beautiful as it is deadly. Musashi arrives and has only enough time to dismembark from the boat before the duel begins.
What follows is one of the most magnificent and understated scenes commited to film. The duel on Genryu Island is incredibly tense. There’s no monologues or speeches. Just two guys going at it with their swords. We see that Musashi, by using the setting sun to his advantage and blinding Sasaki, has learned that being a samurai is not always about who can swing a sword the fastest or hardest. It’s about tact, knowing when to strike, how to use your surroundings- the culmination of many skills coming together to form the ultimate warrior, the samurai. The men thrust and parry, dancing a deadly dance of blades, and in a flash it’s all over. Mushashi was struck on the forehead, a drop of blood marks the hit. Sasaki smiles, knowing well that he may be the only one to land a blow on Musashi. Then he falls, fataly struck by Musashi’s blade. He dies, but he does so with a smile on his face, pride even in losing.
The most poignant thing about the entire trilogy is that as Musashi is congratulated for winning, he sheds tears for the fallen samurai. Musashi comments he may have just killed the greatest samurai he will ever face. It’s an incredible moment when we realize that Musashi knows not only did he kill a great samurai, he will never face another challenger like Sasaki. The samurai’s journey is over.
The third film in the trilogy was the most incredible, displaying the best cinematography and storytelling of them all. However, the film is so successful because of the groundwork laid in the first two films. You need that investment to make “Duel at Ganryu Island” pay off, and it does, big time. And that’s the best you can hope for from a trilogy, isn’t it? A payoff in the third film that makes it your time investment worth while?
Verdict:
“Duel at Ganryu Island” is the most compelling of the trilogy, but only because of the investment in the characters and story made by the first two films. The films weave a successful and connected narrative across three films that, when taken as a whole, chronicle an irresistable journey that only gets better the further you delve. Even with what I consider to be shortcomings, the mellow drama, the underwhelming swordfighting in the first two films, the power of the story is not constrained by the trappings of what we would call “a product of it’s time”. The odyssey of Musashi, the wandering samurai, is timeless, and to me, is a cornerstone not only of Japanese cinema, but the history of cinema as a whole.
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