The Sword of Doom by Kihachi Okamoto

Director: Kihachi Okamoto

Many movies have been made in Japan on Samurai, (and swords) and with a name like “Sword of doom” – that is bound to make one discard it off as a silly video-gameisque Japanese movie all about fighting – one may be tempted to skip it. However do not be misled by the name as it is, without doubt, one of the best movies to ever come out of Japan.

The movie starts with an old man and his granddaughter on a pilgrimage when they come across a ruthless cruel samurai who kills the old man. The tone of the movie is set thereafter. Ryunosuke, a killer samurai who kills impulsively and without reason, is an egoistical mad man who relishes killing and calls his sword as the “only one he trusts”. He practices a highly skilled but peculiar technique which makes him practically invincible. He walks around in a possessed state, betraying no emotion to any human being. His stone face almost indicates a certain level of madness and impregnability.

In the earlier part of the movie, prior to a duel against an inferior opponent, his father advises him to lose the match. Also Utsugi’s (his opponent) wife, pleads for him to lose so that Utsugi can be respected in society and his family and life can be intact. However, he takes her chastity and defeats and kills Utsugi.

As Utsugi’s wife becomes his mistress, and he leaves his hometown, he joins a band of marauding Samurai warriors, and comes across Hyoma, Utsugi’s brother when he visits another school of Samurai. He finds out later from his servant that his own father had instructed Hyoma to kill him who is currently training at the Shimada school. Ryunosuke, then kills his mistress, as she tries to kill him in his sleep, who declares to him that she never loved him as he is a ruthless killer and the reason why she is not with her deceased husband. This, along with another scene – of another master samurai fighting better than him – shakes his confidence and his madness takes a more sinister form. In the end, he sees the ghosts of the people he has killed and goes berserk, killing many samurais in a 7 minute long scene (hailed by many as one of the best till date)

The movie ends with him fighting a samurai, and leaves a question mark to the fate of everyone in the movie. What happens to Ryunosuke? What about Hyona? Omatsu (Hyona’s lover who helps him get Ryunosuke)?

It is a classical example of a movie that lets the audience interpret his own ending to it. The film is shot in black and white, and the recurring Samurai theme is taken up. Like Samurai, and The Seven Samurai, it is set in Medieval Japan, but retains its uniqueness. The shadows and darkness in the movie is symbolic of evil depicted in the form of the protagonist/antagonist, Ryunosuke.

This movie is based on a very well known book in the Japanese culture by the same name, written by Kaizan Nakazato. Various sequels were planned for this movie to complete its story, but were never made. It was also made a part of Criterion’s Collection.