Unforgiven

The original Unforgiven starring Clint Eastwood was set in the northern Far West, while this Japanese remake is set in the equally inhospitable and chilly Hokkaido.

The leading role in this epic film is reserved for Watanabe Ken, best known to us as Tom Cruise’s sidekick in The Last Samurai and Japanese industrial magnate on duty in Inception. Here we see him in a much more classic role: after years on the front line of the shogun’s reign of terror, this old killer has been licking his wounds in the bitter cold of northern Japan since the fall of his lord and master. He lives there in seclusion among the Ainu, the indigenous and often severely discriminated population, together with his wife and children. He swore never to pick up his katana again, but that was without taking into account his past.

What follows is a soothing but tightly filmed spectacle of heroic silences and metal clatter amid seething flames and lashing snow. The truly meticulous production and impressive cast make this samurai film, which has been highly acclaimed in Japan, the ideal opener for our fifth edition.

All images: © 2013 “Unforgiven”