Samurai (Gaspar Scheuer) [Archive]

Grouchy

07-25-2013, 03:17 PM

Heh. I'll so be the only person here to ever see this.

This movie is flawed in too many ways to even count, but I commend the effort of making it, the performances, the tone it achieves and the imagery.

It's like Shanghai Kid set in La Pampa as an independent film. A Japanese family resides in Buenos Aires in the XIXth century. When the grandfather dies he gives the protagonist, Takeo, his katana sword and tells him to continue his samurai legacy by looking for Saigo Takamori, the "last samurai". Mistakenly believing he's to be found in Argentina, Takeo begins his journey on horseback and eventually teams up with an apparently armless gaucho. Then it's male bonding, cultural clash and the ramifications of a plot which meanders in many directions, since it's obvious from the informative opening text that Saigo will not be found.

The film looks gorgeous but fake, showing a creative but limited understanding of the digital medium. Or maybe I'm just not used to a period piece looking so overtly digital. There are many inspired moments but just as many scenes which aim for trascendence and fall short. The script really falls apart at the end, me thinks.

This is the second film by Scheuer after El Desierto Negro [Black Desert], which I'd liked a lot more. Still, I applaud his interest in making gaucho westerns since I believe that type of movie should be made more often, if only to use the many gorgeous landscapes that come with it.