Scabbard Samurai

A down-and-out loser samurai is captured with his smart-alecky daughter and given 30 days to save himself from ritual suicide. His assignment: to make the son of a local clan leader laugh. What follows is a barrage of 30 sometimes bizarrely light-hearted, then hilariously over-the-top jokes.

Saya Zamurai is the third feat of the famous Japanese Hitoshi Matsumoto, whose Symbol we showed you last year, and this time it clearly bears his idiosyncratic stamp. For example, in the choice of his actors: noble unknown real-life idiot Takaaki Nomi takes on the leading role, while daughter Tae is played by a downright fantastic Sea Kumada.

Once again, the director effortlessly navigates between slapstick and sentiment, but does not shy away from drama. The bloodshed and the rigorous codes of honor of the samurai era are equally addressed. Although, let it be clear: this is no ordinary samurai film, this is a true anthology of Humor and humor. With this film, Matsumoto, who enjoys the status of a comic demigod in Japan, brings us above all a wonderfully layered ode to laughter, and especially yours.

All images: © 2011 “Scabbard Samurai”