In many Japanese movie theaters, just before the movie starts, the following video is shown. It explains that uploading/downloading movies to/from the Internet and recording with a camera inside a theater are crimes punished by law.
No More “Eiga dorobou”; “Eiga dorobou” means “steal movies”:
Azumi is a 2003 Japanese movie directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. The action in this movie takes place right after the great Sekigahara battle.
Sekigahara battle is one of the most prominent events in Japanese history. It took place on September 15, 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu’s forces defeated shogun (governor) Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s men. From that battle on, the Tokugawa family held military power over the Japanese territory until 1866. For more than 250 years, Japan was controlled by a military regime (shogunate) and was totally closed to relations, commerce or contact with any foreign country.
Tokugawa Ieyasu’s forces during the Sekigahara battle.
Azumi is set right after Tokugawa Ieyasu rises to power. A warrior trains 10 children to become assassins. Once trained, they would be used to eliminate rebel leaders who try to stop the new regime of Tokugawa Ieyasu. A lot of the elements I wrote about in my article about Bushido can be seen in this movie.
Azumi is the strongest assassin and the main character in the movie.
Ninja ambush in the forest.
I really liked Azumi and I recommend it to everyone who is interested in Japan!
Confessions (告白) by Tetsuya Nakashima was the Japanese movie selected as the entry for the Best Foreign Language Film of this year. The movie is based on a novel by Kanae Minato, which was one the most sold books in Japan in 2008.
I hadn’t seen the movie until my brother recommended it to me the other day. Confessions is a psychological thriller; a high school teacher turns into a cruel killer that wants to take revenge for the death of her daughter. The movie shows us many of the current social problems of the Japan of today, as for example ijime (bullying), the Japanese education system and AIDS. Even tough it is very different, some aspects of the movie reminded me of Battle Royale by Takeshi Kitano.
Very well recommended!
