Film "Bushido Man" was released in 2013, and since there is little information about it on the RuNet, or rather only a “copy-paste” logline in two lines and exactly one specific review on Kinopoisk, written in poetic form by a lover of trash, I decided to compensate for this injustice and paint this more beautifully piece of art. And I say this without any sarcasm. It is worth focusing on such films due to the abundance of advantages in all aspects that the film has and which are sorely lacking in films with large budgets, ambitions and the scale of filming. Moreover, the film is worthy of attention also because there is a shortage of quality films in this category. From this film, you can safely learn how to make a good movie in the BI genre with a minimum of funds and not refer to “bad conditions”, small budgets and some deadlines set by incomprehensible “serious guys” from the film studio, who didn’t care about the creativity coming out of it from the soul.
"Bushido Man" is a fresh look at action cinema. This original and homemade film was created by guys who were apparently tired of all the canons, rules, cliches of big cinema, and who made it primarily because they wanted it, and not because that’s what the job is like. It feels light, fresh, freedom of thought, creativity, simple but funny humor, its own philosophy, process for the sake of process and the absence of pressure from producers and other obligations to the studio. Fortunately, the producers of the film themselves were the producers. It is also felt that the entire creative team of the film consists of enthusiasts, each of whom is engaged in his own business, and among whom there are no random people.
Plot
Modern Japan. Toramaru - a wandering mixed martial arts fighter who follows the “Cosmic Path” - the path of a true samurai warrior, who has a code of honor, his own philosophy and morals, seeking enlightenment through martial arts. When he finishes his educational journey, he visits his master Gensai, who gave him the order to make a pilgrimage across the country and fight with the real masters of the martial arts of Japan, obtain from them the esoteric manuscripts of martial disciplines in order to become a comprehensive master of Mugen-Ga-Ryu (mixed martial arts).
Realization of the plot
Scriptwriter and director Takanori Tsujimoto, who had previously shot low-budget films of a near-trash nature with the presence of martial arts, came up with an interesting style of narrating this story. It is narrated by the main character Toramaru himself after the main events, played by a charismatic and quite famous in Japan Mitsuki Koga ("Triple Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Shinobi).
The story is told in the form of flashbacks after a recent journey, in a dialogue with master Gensai, who eagerly guesses which master Toramaru fought and what dish he tasted before. Yes, you heard it wrong! And the cooking aspect of the plot is given special attention. As Master Gensai’s instruction says: “To know the enemy, you need to know what he eats.” Toramaru, being a diligent student, followed this instruction and before each battle he tasted his opponent’s dish, characteristic of the place where he lived, which is described in detail throughout the film: what food he ate in a particular region or city and how he fought with each master.
I think this culinary plot element is quite funny and original; it adds a special charm to this picture. And with what gusto the story about the dishes tried by the main character is presented, it may even seem that this is an advertisement for some product or catering establishment. The viewer is treated to a rather appetizing tour of Japanese cuisine.
But it would seem, what does food have to do with it? And why film it with such intense attention? Since this is a Zen action movie (I came up with it myself!), due attention is paid to all the delights of the surrounding world: food, locations, and the statue of Buddha, as if reminding us of the Eternal, and passing animals and insects with natural landscapes, and one animal was even assigned a specific role, as was the case in "Ways of the Dragon" in a fight Bruce Lee и Chuck Norris.
On the way, Toramaru will meet the kung fu master Yun Jeng, the pole master Mokunen, the “master” of nunchaku Rin Ryu, and the philosophically minded blind swordsman Musa, who “sees” the enemy better than a sighted person and senses any mental vibrations, body movements, facial expressions, catching at the same time, the smell of cold sweat in the wind, which exudes the fear of the enemy. And also among the fighters there is an unfortunate yakuza hitman - a knife master, who has his own sad backstory and who has nothing else to lose, and a pistol master, who, by a funny coincidence, resembles John Woo, who wears cowboy clothes, and a rather pretty and mysterious stranger named "M" ", equipped with weapons that fire when she strikes with her fists.
The degree of originality and charisma of each of the fighters is off the charts, and dramatic disclosure of their personalities is not even required - everything is written on them. Some fighters, of course, were invented “for company” to make it more fun, but those that are serious are quite meaningful, although there is no completely new idea in them. And yet, in almost every fighter there is a personality that you can look into and see a certain life experience, some zest and flavor, and not a parody. You believe them. And this feeling is quite rare in modern cinema. And casting plays an important role here.
The ending of the film is quite contradictory and unexpected, but fully justifies the general mood of the film consisting of absurdity, comedy and trash. She completely blows your mind, in the good sense of the word.
Casting and acting.
Everything is in its place here. Each actor's performance is interesting to watch. The main character has the noble appearance of an elite warrior, each fighter has his own charisma, Master Gensai is serious and extremely funny at the same time, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, who often plays Takashi Miike, is very well suited for this role.
The comedy component is also worthy of attention. It’s quite funny to watch serious faces talking complete nonsense. And that’s how it was intended. And this is one of the best, in my opinion, styles of the comedy genre, when laughter or a smile is caused by the very fact of the absurdity of what is happening, and not by antics on camera and below-the-belt themes.
Visuals
First, I want to praise the cinematography and editing, which are fundamentally important in the action genre. In this case, it is appropriate to replace static shots, with a correctly selected pictorial composition and harmonious duration, with moderately fast changes of shots, justified by the dramaturgy of each scene, which are replete with various angles.
The camera work and editing look harmonious as a whole, none of the aspects is lame or spoils the impression of the other, but are mutually complementary. Almost every frame can be paused and painted with oil. There is no rush, no rush, not a single extra scene or extra frame.
Such original angles and frame compositions in action scenes, as in this film, can only be seen in Japanese anime or comic book artists. I haven't seen a similar approach anywhere else. But maybe because I didn't see it.
Secondly, the color correction of the video and the illumination of the picture are pleasing to the eye, with barely noticeable visual effects that create the overall color scheme of the film and its special mood. It can be seen that this aspect was approached consciously with due care. The picture should please the eye and the creators understand this very well.
With the same due attention and taste, the stylish opening credits for the film were made, similar to old Chinese films about kung fu, in which one feels a tribute to the films of the past, on which, apparently, the creators grew up.
For the most part, the visuals take place in a contemplative, meditative, unhurried style, but which, at the same time, does not serve as a soporific, but, on the contrary, keeps the entire film in mind. But this depends on the personal qualities of the viewer. To many, this approach will seem, on the contrary, boring, because they are accustomed to the flickering of the camera, the constant inappropriate change of frames, which KINDLY create dynamics, with stupid dialogues for the sake of dialogues, which abound in most modern films.
Soundtrack
I rarely pay attention to the musical accompaniment aspect, because it’s rarely memorable. This film is exactly the case where you can note all the musical accompaniment throughout the entire film! The soundtrack here, to my taste and color, is appropriate everywhere, emphasizes the drama of each scene and falls silent when necessary, such as in the battle with the blind sword master. And in general the music is good. The background sound is also pleasant: the rustling of leaves, winds, birdsong, the murmur of a stream, the sound of a low-flying Boeing, all this is clearly audible and has a calming effect on the psyche. There is little dialogue in the film; information is conveyed through visuals, as it should be for cinema, and not through constant conversations. The voice acting for fights sounds natural and high quality.
Choreography of fights
“Rhythm and euphoria are very important in battle,” as Master Gensai said, as if speaking about the quality of the fight scenes. There are a lot of fights here and their quantity matches the quality, which is extremely rare. Stage Director Kensuke Sonomura, who plays kung fu master Yun Jeng, approached his task very responsibly. By the way, he is also a co-producer and editor of the film and starred in "Machine Gun Girl". And this is probably the most important factor in why the action in the film is so good, because the editing was done by the choreographer himself, and not just an editor who does not understand the full value of the stunt work and choreography done. And the tendency for editing to spoil all the stunt work is quite common in modern action films.
Each fight is individual, original, inventive and replete with a variety of techniques, all this is accompanied by competent rhythm, dynamics, editing and live camera work, which at the right moments changes its perspective, from dynamics to statics, and does this in a very diverse way. If in American analogues there are 3-4 banal angles, then here there are several times more of them, they are not banal, and they do not in any way affect the intelligibility of what is happening on the screen.
The fights last as long as necessary; not a single serious fighter in the film was lost, contrary to the general trends of modern combat cinema.
It feels like the idea of showing the beauty of martial arts and fighting is the main theme here. A lot of work has been done on an aspect of the fight choreography that was previously only seen in older Hong Kong action films. There is no analogue to this in modern action films. And in the film there are almost no cables, mats or other tricks, which is also important. There were doubts about only one fragment, and then the cable was appropriate there.
It should also be noted that a very important aspect in fights is their good dramaturgy, and indeed its presence in general. Here the opponents of each other really stand, almost each of them worthily defends the honor of his art, the imminent victory wanders from one to another, the opponents frown, become confused, look at each other, study, get angry, try to guess the next attack, the main character finds each master has his own key to victory, and there are no giveaways or “staged” effects in the choreography here, everyone moves harmoniously, rhythmically and with the effect of contact. In the fights, due attention is paid to the acting of the actors, their looks, and facial expressions, which is also extremely rare in modern cinema. And this is one of the most important elements of visualizing on-screen conflict. Suffice it to recall scenes from Westerns Sergio Leone or Bruce Lee с Jackie Chanto understand the full value of such story telling elements.
Other nice notes
This film has its own style, its own atmosphere, its own mood, everything is here. The film is artistic in every sense of the word.
They did not lose sight of the changing visual appearance of the main character, which changes throughout the entire journey through Japan. A trifle, it would seem, but no - it’s the little things that build a holistic impression, they add naturalness and vitality.
The visual accents turned out to be pleasant in scenes that did not carry any plot significance: a girl sweeps leaves, the main character eats food or collects branches in the forest in order to use them to write a challenge to the pole master who sweeps the temple grounds; the camera often lingers on locations: a murmuring pond, various living creatures and nature, its landscapes, contrasting with the backgrounds of city locations with the characteristic bustle and flows of “business people”; in the view from an airplane window, as well as in the natural and non-ostentatious behavior of some of the characters in the frame, not counting the deliberately exaggerated humorous scenes.
It is especially worth emphasizing the mutual respect the opponents have for each other. This is not just a fight, a showdown of personal relationships, revenge, violence for the sake of violence, which is already sickening. Real warriors fight here, having a concept of military etiquette, warriors who give up their manuscripts after losing with dignity, without giving their own lives, and who have a friendly conversation after the fight. The warriors in this film do not seethe with hatred, they are driven by a healthy spirit of competition. This aspect of the drama also contributes to the overall positive mood of the film. Previously, I had seen such a display of respect and military etiquette for an opponent only in a scene in the film “The Way of the Dragon,” when Bruce Lee’s hero did not simply leave the battlefield after defeating an opponent or cut out the enemy’s liver and, having bitten off from it, spat it in the face of the defeated enemy, then lit an elite cigar, as one very “wild dog” Martin did, and acted like a real Warrior and Man - he went for the enemy’s kimono and covered him with it, putting a belt on it, with obvious respect for the defeated master and regret for this in the end. And this is one of the best and most heartwarming scenes in the history of combat cinema, IMHO.
Recommendations for viewing and who should not watch this film.
If you haven't seen it, you shouldn't expect anything from the film. It is advisable to completely turn off all thoughts, expectations and praise for the film described above, because this can cause inflated expectations and, as a result, the opposite effect. Moreover, there is a lot of subjective perception in the review. The film is simple, not expensive, but very tasty in every sense.
Those accustomed to glamor, big budgets, special effects and all sorts of visual show-offs may not need to watch this film.
People who do not fundamentally understand Japanese cinema, the Japanese environment, the peculiarities of culture, their mentality and humor do not need to watch this film either.
Those for whom “all Chinese look the same” are also missing.
For pregnant women and children, this film is also not suitable for leisure time.
A schoolboy raised on guyver kicks Adkins and all sorts of “carriers”, this film will also not be understandable. For there are no guys here, no kicks, no Adkins, no carriers. It's more of a tribute to the classics of Asian martial cinema in such a unique form.
I don’t advise people who like to look for deep meanings and logic in martial arts films to waste time, especially here. For it is difficult to find a black man (or whoever...) in a dark room, especially if he is not there. “Serious people” have nothing to do here. This film will blow your mind when you try to comprehend it logically, and you will immediately write it down in the "trash" genre. This film will be more understandable for the right hemisphere of the brain, which does not have the ability to perceive what is happening through the prism of logic, but which thinks in images, intuition and is responsible for a creative approach. And in this film creativity is in full swing!
In fact, the film is not trash, despite the presence of its elements. This cinematic dish contains more ingredients and can be described as: a comedic-appetizing Zen action movie with a thrash seasoning and a martial arts sauce. This happens very rarely when a martial arts movie is presented lightly in terms of the storyline. In any case, there is a fairly harmonious fusion between seriousness and not a small amount of absurdity. I personally watched this film several times and at the same time rested my soul, especially since the genre of absurdity in comedies is especially close to me.
Don't turn off the film after the end credits.
Oh yes... and don't watch a movie at night, because more than once you will have to pause and head to the refrigerator for certain reasons. Well, or as a last resort, you can safely stock up on goodies before watching.
PS "Bushido Man" - one of the best films in the martial arts category in the entire history of the genre, in my subjective opinion. For me this is a masterpiece. Well done Japanese! I don’t pretend to have an objective opinion... but why not? Bon appetit!
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Tags: Bushido Man, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Kensuke Sonomura, Miki Koga, Takanori Tsujimoto
Tags: Bushido Man, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Kensuke Sonomura, Miki Koga, Takanori Tsujimoto
There is no arguing about tastes, you never know what people like. But judging by the trailer, this is an ordinary Japanese cheap trash film, which is filmed in tons in the Land of the Rising Sun. The lack of a plot and beautiful pictures in films of the MA genre is not important for me personally; there are examples when such a film thunders all over the world, like “Ong Bak”, for example, but again, judging by the trailer, the choreography is not that great either. There is a suspicion that the lack of necessary skills is masked by special effects. I'd be happy to be wrong, as I'm a big fan of Asian thrash metal.
The choreography here is all very bad, there are no normal fights, in Russian action films the fights are shot better, the plot is complete nonsense, and the hero eats sickening food all the time, in Japan apparently this is how they feed people. The most crazy action movie I've seen lately.
Let the author of this article forgive me, but I haven’t seen such nonsense for a long time.
Dave,
I don't think there's anything wrong with that. On the contrary - good. We are all different and we like different things. And the more different combat films there are, the higher the chance that you will like some of them.
I agree, some people like it, others don’t, tastes vary.