Samurai Fiction

In the heart of feudal Japan, Heishiro, a cocksure young samurai, ain’t taking shit from nobody. His clan’s precious sword has been snatched by some renegade bastard who also had the audacity to off one of Heishiro’s own. Pissed off and thirsting for revenge, Heishiro rallies his ragtag crew of misfit buddies, and they set out on a journey to dish out some serious justice.

Enter an old-school samurai, grey beard and all, who’s been around the block and seen enough blood spilling to last a lifetime. He tries to lay some wisdom on Heishiro, preaching about the dangers of letting vengeance consume the soul. But you know how it is with these young bucks — they never listen, especially when blood’s been spilled.

I’m a woman who’s killed all manner of men. Even trumped up little samurai like you! No stray dog is going to give me any cheek!

Samurai Fiction ain’t your run-of-the-mill samurai yarn. It’s an homage, a wild mix of styles that’s as sharp as a katana and as unpredictable as a Mexican standoff. Hiroyuki Nakano, a master with the camera, takes a stab at the samurai genre, blending tradition with a dose of postmodern flair.

Nakano shoots in black and white because it is that way cool and sprinkled with color inserts that pop like blood on a white kimono. The opening fight scene is shot against the red backdrop, which Tarantino used it in Kill Bill, but with a blue background. The flick gets its groove from a killer jazz/rock score by the guitar virtuoso Tomoyasu Hotei, who also plays our villain, Kazamatsuri. The dude is a rock star and did one of the songs for Kill Bill.

There are a lot of great moments in Samurai Fiction like ninjas in a dojo flipping and twirling like acrobatic maniacs. It’s like watching a bunch of puppies in a pet store window, all eager and shit. In one scene, before Kazamatsuri dives into battle, he takes a moment to drain the main vein. Badass move, right? And get this: Kazamatsuri flips his katana upside down like an 80’s gangsta. Now, that’s some cool shit.

Samurai Fiction walks the tightrope of parody and homage. It’s like Nakano’s saying, “Yeah, we're playing with the cliches, but we’re only half-joking.” The flick turned heads at festivals and is a cult classic. Go watch it!