Japanese director Takashi Miike is as inconsistent as he is prolific. For those who have been keeping count, “Blade Of The Immortal” is apparently the permanently busy director’s 100th film. At any rate, when Miike is in top form, he’s still one of the most entertaining, off the wall directors to watch, and his new samurai movie is bringing buckets of blood and the kind of gonzo attitude we expect from the auteur.
Starring Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi, Ebizô Ichikawa, Min Tanaka and Tsutomu Yamazaki, “Blade Of The Immortal” rolls with a simple premise: a samurai cursed with immortality wields a protective sword over a young girl. But from that no frills idea, Miike lets loose with equal measure of violence and imagination. Here’s the official synopsis:
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
“Blade Of The Immortal” debuted at Cannes, hit a handful of festivals over the summer, and will next roll into Fantastic Fest. The movie opens in cinemas on November 3rd.