Instinct and Tribulation

How Japanese new wave and other films relate to Samurai form

The mounting odds - 13 assassins against the 7 samurai

It seems Seven Samurai (1954) set the standard for what a samurai film should strive for in terms of its characters. It looks as if it represents every aspect of what samurai should embody as well as having a complex narritive that manages to balance all of its cast semi-equally. Its reasons like this that I beleive many people like to critique The 13 Assasins (1963). The two films represent very similar narritives, with both plots following a group of un-employed samurai being hired to take down a large threat while held up in a small town, only to have the bare minimum survive.

The samurai class are often compared to monks in their pursuit of honor and chivalry. As its stated in the history of Zen in Japan, "Both the samurai and the Zen monk have to under go a strict discipline and endeavor privation without complaint." What this shows is how warrirors must be disciplined in their actions yet act on instict when it comes fighting in battle. Each warriror must balance on a fine line of demonstrating instict, yet perfect forethought. It seems most samurai films try to demonstrate this, yet some seem to fall short in successfully portaying the necessity of why such things are important.

Black Cat - How the new wave critiques form

After the start of the Japanese new wave, viewers began to see critiques of these previous ideals that were held in high regard, showing a different side to the samurai than shown before. One such film is the 1968 horror film Kuroneko [translating to 'Black Cat']. In the film, samurai are not depicted as digligant warriors but crude drunks who take advantage of many of the women in the film. Each one being luered into the woods by vengful ghosts to be killed simply because they decided to become a samurai.

What this becomes then is a critique of the prior ideas and standards which most samurai were thought to be held too. They are shown not acting on instinct, but more on their own dark impulse (usually at the dispense of women). Not only in narrative but also in aesthetic the film, it takes on a style of something experimental or previously attempted. While a film like Double Suicide (1969) showed the stage hands in the background, Kuroneko's background takes on the appearance of a dimly lit stage play. This showing the Japanese new wave it self began to play with form and technique to show how some old concepts were perhaps not as infallible as previously thought. It has yet to be discussed whether this same instance happened to western films and their own classic period in film [such as the western for example], but it becomes more limpid how the previous notions of what a samurai was grows more and more up for debate.