Another excellent Ronin film released by Janus Films Criterion edition. These are just great Samurai films, and I hope Criterion keeps releasing more excellent Japanese films that have not been released here as of yet. This film is about the ambiguousness of serving for honor and loyalty to ones clans, when the higher ups will in fact think nothing of throwing you away and killing you once they have used you for their purposes.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILER…

Hira Mikijiro Plyas Yuki Gennosuke a Ronin on the run from his clan after her killed the Counsellor, so he is being chased by his former best friend, the Counselor’s daughter who is engaged to him, the sword master of the clan and a couple of helpers. Gennosuke has managed to escape them a few times, and ends up helping a small time gambler from some rouge prospectors, so the gambler help and the two head into the government hills to get some gold. They go into the mountain and find a Samurai and his wife who are illegally prospecting government gold, and Gennosuke says he will be back. Then the prospector’s take the Samurai’s wife, and say they will trade the gold for his wife, but the Samurai won’t do it, so Gennosuke kills on of them and saves the wife. The wife goes to Gennosuke and offers to go with him as a beast, the woman of a ronin, but when Gennosuke hears that they are working under orders from their clan, he understands the samurai and brings the wife home. Then the people following Gennosuke show up, and the samurai kills the best of them. Gennosuke is warned that the clan is going to come and kill everyone, including their own samurai and his wife. Gennosuke goes to rescue them, but runs into his best friend and fiancee, who has been raped by the prospectors, and they kill the prospectors, but she can no longer return to her clan because she is a fallen woman. Gennosuke tries to save the samurai but is unsuccessful, and he and his wife are killed but Gennosuke takes revenge on the Counselor of the clan. His friend will leave with his fiance, and he leaves on his own, all Ronin now.

A very enjoyable film.