Although i liked it comparatively lesser than The Twilight Samurai,it's still a great movie which transcends the genre one has come to associate with it. Acting,score and cinematography are all quite impressive.

Yoji Yamada sure is insatiable, when it come to creating Motion Pictures! The Man is now 85 and still puts a movie out every Year!
The typical japanese Workaholic!

Here we have a wonderful Love-Story that can't be, because the standards and practices condone it.
A Samurai could never marry someone under is Rang, and a Housemaid is completely out of the Question. What do you do, if your an honest Person, who just wants a happy life without much fuss and galore?

Heartbreaking Performances from Nagase and Matsu, you only can root for this pair! He's a charming fellow, with the heart on the right place and she is adorable beyond believe!
Also, one of the realest Fighting scenes in the Samurai-Genre I think.

But it is not a Samurai Movie, it is a Love Story.
Be Aware of that!

Strikes against the Hydra: the nineteenth Head!

This is almost an exact copy of The Twilight Samurai to the point where the whole thing is entirely predictable however I could not help but enjoy it tremendously even though I knew every beat it would take.

Can the common audicences see a movie about samurais that is more interested in telling a romantic story and focusing on its characters instead of the action?
An interesting question that this film responds with sufficient quality.

The Hidden Blade

A slow burn of a historical drama that only gets better as it goes on. Beautifully shot, beautifully scored, and just damn good.

Going only by the title and short description, I expected a dramatic story, ending in an epic fight, where the 'hero' gets to use his technique.
I enjoyed the acting and scenery, but the story itself was a total lackluster.
The comedic scenes felt forced and out of place, there is so much time wasted on random things instead of using it to *actually* flesh out both his struggles with duty and love.
Then there's the final battle which was incredibly disappointing to me.
Overall it felt as it's all over the place, I wasn't even remotely emotionally involved, the actors not having any chemistry also added to that.
Decent, but there's plenty of samurai movies that are more enjoyable.

The Hidden Blade

i’m just not used to japanese movies. For me somehow their acts kinda theatrical / stiff (compared to koreans).

This one is also fit into that category (for me). But somehow i enjoyed it ( though i yawned here n there). And the sword fighting scene, is just natural.

Stumbled onto this gem on Kanopy tonight. More people need to see and talk about this.

Yamada hits basically every beat that you’d want a period epic to hit. A leisurely pace never wears on you, instead giving you ample time to absorb how much detail is put into every frame. It’s a sharp character study of a man sitting right in the fulcrum of a culture that’s seemingly changing overnight, that’s then tied in a bow by a lovely, easy romance.

Can the common audicences see a movie about samurais that is more interested in telling a romantic story and focusing on its characters instead of the action?
An interesting question that this film responds with sufficient quality.

Similar themes and tropes to Twilight Samurai. A thwarted samurai gets revenge with martial tricks he learnt from his master, but not before he builds a relationship with a family servant. Bizarrely, a sort of happy ending, as he leaves his life and location to seek a new one, and takes teh woman with him. They tease one another. Ninjo defeats giri.

Installment kedua Samurai Trilogy ini intrik ceritanya lebih kompleks dan berlapis ketimbang yang pertama (Twilight Samurai), latar sejarahnya lebih berasa, juga banyak karakter dan kelas terlibat tapi so far porsinya pas dan mendukung naskah.

"Usai terbayar dendam, apa yang harus kulakukan?"