Presented by Japan Foundation
A Samurai in Time
Directed by Junichi Yasuda
Hosted by Director/Writer/Producer Junichi Yasuda, Actors Makiya Yamaguchi and Yuno Sakura
Director
Junichi Yasuda
Producer
Junichi Yasuda
Writer
Junichi Yasuda
Cast
Makiya Yamaguchi, Norimasa Fuke, Rantaro Mine, Yuno Sakura
Cinematographer
Junichi Yasuda
Editor
Junichi Yasuda
contact
Third Window Films
In a quiet lane in Kyoto, as the Edo period draws to its dramatic close, two pro-shogunate swordsmen ambush a political foe. The ringing of clashing steel is interrupted by a flash of lightning, heralding a bizarre paranormal event. Aizu clansman Kosaka Shinzaemon awakes to find himself... in a quiet lane in Kyoto. His mild confusion becomes outright alarm, however, when among the busy locals clad in the robes of old Japan, he sees some wearing blue jeans, running shoes, and headphones. Even the folks who seem ordinary to him are behaving in odd ways. Shinzaemon has been flung a century and half into the future, landing right in the middle of a jidaigeki (period drama) television production. Fleeing the set, he finds himself adrift in a modern city where nothing makes sense. As the truth of his circumstances dawn on him, Shinzaemon is devastated. What place is there, here and now, for an honourable, old-fashioned samurai? Well, for starters, authenticity and skill with a sword are highly prized by the jidaigeki production team...
The medieval warrior transported to modern times is a variant of the time-travel subgenre that has been explored many times around the world—remember Jean Reno in THE VISITORS? Award-winning writer/director Junichi Yasuda (GOHAN), however, offers a take on that theme that’s not only clever, funny, and distinctly Japanese, but remarkably poignant. Shot on location at Toei Studios Kyoto, A SAMURAI IN TIME is nailed down by the subtle and convincing performance of lead actor Makiya Yamaguchi, whose diverse resume includes a number of jidaigeki titles. In fact, the film is more than a fun fish-out-of-water fantasy, it’s an homage to samurai cinema as it wanes as surely as the shogunate once did. Dedicated to the late Seizo Fukumoto (UZUMASA LIMELIGHT), a jidaigeki regular for decades who is said to have been killed tens of thousands of times of on screen, Yasuda’s A SAMURAI IN TIME is a cinematic destination absolutely worth the time and travel to experience. – Rupert Bottenberg
Showings
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