DVD REVIEW: “47 RONIN”
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
Starring
Carl Rinsch Pamela Abdy Eric McLeod Chris Morgan Hossein Amini Chris Morgan Walter Hamada Keanu Reeves Hiroyuki Sanada
By Phil Seahorn OUT.FUCKING.STANDING. Haven’t been able to write a review in a while,(“12 Years A Slave “was just too fucking painful, I actually tried ) mainly because no movie has been worth the time to actually write about. But “47 RONIN” is a historical and cinematic masterpiece. As a historical piece, it ranks with the likes of “12 YEARS A SLAVE” in historical accuracy.”Ronin” thoroughly brings to life a part of a country’s history that, 150 years later, would emerge as such a force of will in battle (bushido) that the only recourse the most powerful nation on earth had to deal with this culture and people were to literally blow them off the face of the earth.
I have had a love for all things Japanese since my mom would regale us with stories of Japan, as she was stationed there for 4 years. My sister and I visited Japan with my parents, who were both Army, from the time I was born until I was 4. That’s something that I really never shared with anyone until now, but it was my mother who created my love of “kaiju” movies, manga, and Japanese series like “Johnny Socko” and “UltraMan”. It was this love that allowed me to pass my Non western foreign history class, when I took a class on ancient and modern Japan, taught by the head of the Clayton School District up at Wash U no less. So it was with extreme pleasure that I sat thru this DVD. Okay, I didn’t go see it at the movies because I was put off by what I call “the Keanu Reeves Effect”. Reeves fully understands that effect, and was smart enough in his movie career to only make a few movies, but save practically all his money from the movies to live on, giving him greater control of the movie projects he picks. But it still put me off on seeing this movie, and it was a mistake. The producers of this film were smart enough to include Keanu in the story (he is the star of the movie, but the movie is the true performer), and actually filmed two movies in one: part of the movie was Keeanu’s story, the other half was the historical depiction of Japan’s greatest cultural story showing the true strength of “bushido”, the Japanese code of life. The producers, in making this historical fantasy, kept Reeves exactly where he belonged: in the fantasy half of the movie. The rest is a movie shot and lit so beautifully that every scene is a painting. I’m not exaggerating. I have not seen a more beautiful movie since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.
The fight scenes were not heavily choreographed, keeping with the realism of samurai life during the time of the story. Even the fight scenes with Reeves were more realistic, EXCEPT the fight in the third act, which even then, Reeves fit perfectly into the “Matrix” (there it is) style that they used in the movie for this scene, and though I was miffed a bit, it worked. Reeves knows that he was typecast before “The Matrix”, and more typecast after the trilogy. Trying to cash in on the “black suited, deeply troubled and angst ridden anti hero” with “Constantine” flopped horribly. Reeves disappeared for almost ten years before making “Ronin”. He has shown, or his management, that they are still smart enough to put Reeves where he gets paid despite his typecasting. But it is the sheer historical accuracy (even despite the fantasy elements) and cinematography of this movie that really should have put it up there for an Oscar consideration, especially for costuming and cinematography. But it suffered from the “Keanu Reeves Effect” and the movie fell by the wayside. Another thing is how fast this movie went to DVD release. I live around the corner from the Esquire in Richmond Heights, and I clearly remember looking at the poster of the movie amid the snow and ice of this past (and still lingering) winter from hell. Maybe Hollywood is wising up on shortening the time of movie release and DVD release. All in all, the best American made samurai movie I have seen in years. The only thing I could say was a negative (in my humble opinion) was that it would have been a far better movie if it was done completely in Japanese, with sub titles. American moviegoers HATE subtitles ( I remember dating a gal who said ”Why the fuck would I pay to go see a movie and read for two fucking hours?” in which, all things considered, is a valid point.
The SEAHORN MOVIEMETER: ”A” for a Keanu Reeves movie that turned out to be really, really good!