☆ ☆ ☆ ½
Shura
(Demons)(1971) – T. Matsumoto
Shot in strikingly low-key (high contrast)
black and white – where the darkness threatens to overtake the light in almost
every shot. Truly, the film is dark,
both in terms of being set predominantly at night (or so it seems) and in terms
of its content. Katsuo Nakamura plays a
ronin samurai who is actually seeking to become part of the famous 47 ronin who
carried out a surprise revenge attack after their lord was forced to commit
sepukku. However, he spends all of the
movie slumming it under the name “Gengobe”, wasting his time with geisha and ne’er-do-wells. In fact, he is soon conned by a geisha (Yasuko
Sanjo) and her husband (Juro Karo) into parting ways with the funds needed to
join the ronin group. This leads to a
very bloody attack on his part (shot gruesomely) but only the various
accomplices are killed. His pursuit of
the trickster couple uncovers an ironic relationship between all three once
their true identities are revealed. But
it is too late to stop an even more grotesque and gruesome fate! The film takes its time, moving leisurely,
and director Toshio Matsumoto uses a number of strategies to disorient viewers;
such as restarting several scenes from the beginning but from a different
perspective – or with different content -- contrasting dreams/anxiety with
reality. Since both are dark and violent, it is hard to know which is which;
later in the picture, some dreams seem to become reality. Rather stagebound but verging on
hallucinatory at times.
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