Fresh
A tenacious survival tale in which passionate lovers are held apart by outmoded traditions. How they overcome obstacles to happiness is what makes the film so dramatically engaging.
Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times
Overview
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
Director and cast
- Yoji Yamada Director
- Masatoshi Nagase as Munezô Katagiri
- Takako Matsu as Kie
- Hidetaka Yoshioka as Samon Shimada
- Yukiyoshi Ozawa as Yaichirô Hazama
- Tomoko Tabata as Shino Katagiri
- Chieko Baisho as Mrs. Katagiri
- Kunie Tanaka as Kanbê Katagiri
- Toshiki Ayata Cast
- Hiroshi Kanbe Cast
- Sachiko Mitsumoto as Mrs. Iseya
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
87%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Yamada's enormously enjoyable The Hidden Blade is a movie that deftly balances the obligations of samurai history with love story.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Fresh
Reminders of feudal Japan are mixed in with a prescient glimpse into the country's future. The samurai will not be part of it, and The Hidden Blade poignantly shows what is lost in the name of progress.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh
An affecting portrait of the impact of profound change on people with limited options.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Fresh
The Hidden Blade bears more than a passing resemblance in story and form to The Twilight Samurai, but stands on its own as a pleasant, if unremarkable, romance.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
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