Bushido Sixteen (Tomoyuki Furumaya, 2010)


Furumay's last film, The Homeless Student, had a generally fine cast but didn't quite work -- mostly because the actor playing the central character was way too old for the part and wasn't a strong enough performer to overcome this handicap.  The twin heroines here, played by Riko Narumi (How To Become Myself) and Kii Kitano (BandAge), are closer to the right age and far more skilled. The film  focuses, almost entirely, on these two girls, who initially meet in passing during a junior high kendo competition (where Kitano beats Narumi by a fluke) and then later wind up in the same high school.

Kitano plays a (mostly) happy-go-lucky character, who participates in kendo because she finds it to be fun (and also, one suspects, because her friends also participate); Narumi's character is the daughter of a kendo master (who lives in the dojo run by her father). Narumi is mortified to learn that Kitano doesn't even recall their prior match -- and is more than a bit ferocious in their first practice match.  Despite their contrasting dispositions, the two form a (sometimes rocky) friendship during their first year of high school.  The two young stars here do a first-rate job in making the relationship credible.

While the film depicts plenty of kendo practice (and competition matches), these scenes mainly serve to establish the nature of each of the characters and the growth of the bond forming between them.  The overall pacing is relatively leisurely, but the film seems to flow about the right speed. The cinematography is not especially flashy but is effective.  I suspect this gentle little film  does not have much chance of getting Western distribution due largely to its own virtues -- its sweetness of tone and its low-key nature.

The Japanese DVD does not include English subtitles, as is now (unfortunately) becoming the norm for releases of this type. Indeed, this DVD lacks even Japanese subtitles.

(Postscript -- for the first time ever, the Amazon Japan shipment containing this DVD got hit by customs charges).

Comments

Jake Savage said…
Good to see you writing again, Michael!
Now I just need to find enough spare time to tackle a couple of films each month (at least).
late said…
http://japaneiga.free.fr/classics.html my email bradman81@yahoo.com no not my site but after reading some posts and personal info thought you would have interest in this site i enjoyed reading many off your posts

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