Samurai Marathon by Bernard Rose delivers exactly what it promises in the title. There is indeed a marathon in the film in which the participants are samurais. The film is inspired by a real-life event, taking place in 1855 where the arrival of the American “black ships” saw the end of an extended time of peace. For 250 years Japan had been closed off the world. Fearing that the pact between the Americans and the Japanese won’t last, Katsuakira Itakura (Hiroki Hasegawa), the feudal lord of Annaka organizes a 36-mile race to train and test his samurai who, he believes have become “weak and undisciplined”.
All of the samurai under the age of 50 must participate. The prize is that the winner may ask a wish and Katsiakira will deliver their desire. One of the participants is Jinnai Karasawa (Takeru Satoh), who is harboring a deep secret: he’s a spy for the shogun, just like generations of his family before him. When the lord suddenly summons his samurai, Jinnai assumes it must mean rebellion. He sends the shogun a letter informing him of a planned attack. However, when it is quickly revealed as a harmless race, Jinnai must try and avert the impending attack from the shogun’s men.
Another participate is Yuki (Nana Komatsu), the princess of the Annaka clan, who has rejected the spouse chosen by her father and has dressed as a boy in order to compete. Her potential husband, a high ranking samurai, has decided that he will win whatever the cost. There is also the likes of Hironoshin Uesugi (Shota Sometani), a kind-hearted commoner with dreams of becoming a samurai; and Mataemon Kurita (Naoto Takenaka), a retired guard who wants to prove his worth in his old age and is accompanied by Isuke Fukumoto (Ruka Wakabayahi), a young boy who wants to support his widowed mother.
The issue with the Samurai Marathon is that the actual marathon takes a long time to begin. There are numerous characters that we are introduced to and expected to follow, which makes for a confusing time trying to recall who is who and how they relate to the other characters featured in the film. As a result, we are never able to fully sit back and enjoy the film as a whole.
The film’s tone shifts dramatically in places with sudden and unexpected moments of violence exploding on the screen. The moments of comic relief some time act as a distraction and feel forced in places. The seriousness of the impending attack becomes slightly downplayed when we have funny little skits involving Kurita and Fukumoto as they run around reacting to the aftermath of a bloody fight scene. These two characters just feel completely unnecessary to the film’s actual plot.
The film’s strength lies in its gorgeous cinematography by Takuro Ishizaka who manages to capture the absolute beauty of the countryside. Ishizaka manages to make use of the natural light which helps to create the right atmosphere and set the mood in certain scenes. The use of slow motion is quite effective especially in one moment where a man is beheaded, a jet of blood spraying a field full of crops. This violent imagery is both haunting and beautiful at the same time.
The more violent and action based elements are clearly something that the director is more comfortable with as Rose is perhaps best known for his horror film Candyman (1992), but one can’t get over the fact that maybe Rose is too preoccupied trying to pad out the runtime for Samurai Marathon.
In regards to the film’s score by Philip Glass, it feels odd in places. Glass’ score feels like it would be best suited to a more historically based and serious epic. While it’s a beautiful score, it somehow doesn’t pair well with the rest of the film, especially in the comedic moments. In terms of the performances, the cast does the best they can with the weak writing and slightly cliched dialogue. This very much feels like a Western attempting to tell a story set in a world they know very little about, and maybe this is why the film feels so confused.
Samurai Marathon may have worked better if it had been played out as a serious, straight action/thriller film rather than this muddled hybrid comedy/action film that it is. The film feels oddly paced, with the ending being quickly tied up and everything being resolved rather too neatly. At the end of the day, there is enough to keep the viewer entertained but Samurai Marathon is a film that quickly becomes forgettable once the credits have rolled.
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