Rise Against the Sword
(Abare Goemon, 1966)

Inagaki Hiroshi

Japan

101 min, B&W, Japanese (English subtitles)

Review © 2006 Branislav L. Slantchev

Set in the waning years of the Warring States period just before Nobunaga started the process that would usher in the Tokugawa rule, the film depicts the struggles of the farmers against the depredations of the ever more restless samurai. This is not the peasant/samurai version of Kurosawa's peasant/bandit classic Seven Samurai, however. First, the peasants are not helpless peons who take violence lying down. Second, they face well-trained armies of samurai, not some brigands. Third, they have discovered the virtues of collaboration.

Um, dear, you're holding this upside down	Quite the embarrassing welcome

Although he filmed it well after his acclaimed Samurai Trilogy, Inagaki opted for the glorious black and white, probably to make the parallel and contrast with Kurosawa's film even more explicit. There is no reason why this should not have been shot in color, and as the stunning Samurai Banners he would do only three years after this one (and where he would cover the same time period but from the samurai perspective) can attest, Inagaki has no problem staging a spectacle of pomp and circumstance. But where the flamboyant colors seem quite apposite for no less flamboyant samurai, the gritty monochrome is much more appropriate for the down to earth peasants who spend most of their lives in gray anonymity, toiling and dying.

Tender brotherly love	Gratuitous shot of Hoshi Yuriko

Much like his character in Kurosawa's film, Mifune Toshiro's Goemon Abare is a man who should have been born in a different social stratum. He reprises his utter contempt for the samurai and their treacherous way of life but whereas he aspired to become one of them in the other epic (mostly because of the noble example of Shimura Takashi's character), he has no such desires here. In fact, he strenuously opposes any cooperation with them, up to the point where he loses his brother and nearly sacrifices his entire village. On the other hand, his thirst for war is not something one ordinarily finds among peasants. And not only does he covet fighting, he's pretty damn good at it.

Doesn't this face look nobly heroic?	Tranquil domestic life

Abare is a village leader who is a member of a loose alliance of several villages formed to protect the peasants from the roving and plundering samurai and their incessant warfare. Abare is a brilliant tactician who has led the peasant army to victory time and again, and has risen to prominence that catches the eye of the local lord. The nobles are plotting to attack the neighboring province but are afraid to leave the uppity farmers in their rear because who knows to what use these untrustworthy men would put their pitchforks once their masters' backs are turned. Naturally, the samurai conspire to bribe the farmers into quiescence and, even more daringly, use them as sword-fodder in the coming war with the other lord.

Goemon explains the finer points of diplomacy	The slick agent-provocateur

The peasant alliance nearly disintegrates when the samurai throw gold at their nominal leader whose greed is matched only by his stupidity. Abare refuses to shed his blood for some wanton samurai purpose and his argument that the peasants should stick together carries the day at the allied council with the sole exception of the leader's village. While this buys him peace, Abare is not happy. First, his spirit cannot dwell within the peaceful confines of his family home. He longs for adventure and he spoils for a fight. But there is no war, so he spends his time trying to train his less competent brothers in the arts of war. Second, the refusal brings the wrath of the samurai who decide to teach him a lesson.

Love at fifty-seventh sight	The village defense council

The convenient place to drive a wedge in an opponent's front is his family, if that's at all possible. As luck would have it, Abare's two brothers were recently released from the lord's castle where they had lived as hostages for years. The older Yatota (Sato Makoto) is in awe of Abare and while he's short in the personal bravery department, he's quite willing to learn and overcome his weaknesses, even when they are only in his elder brother's eye. When Yatota falls in (requited) love with Ayame (Ozora Mayumi), his romance is cut short by Abare who cannot stand the fact that Ayame is apparently the illegitimate child of the despicable samurai. Despite his suffering, Yatota bows to his judgment and forces Ayame to flee the village when he fails to take a stand for their love.

Happy family	Unhappy father-daughter relations

Things are rather different with the younger Hayato (Tamura Ryo), a hot-headed idealist who is quick to disparage his brother's uncouth ways and even quicker to doubt the wisdom of his belligerence. Being so inexperienced, Hayato seems to think that wishful thinking can rectify everything that is wrong with the world. He believes that all killing is bad regardless of one's purpose or the moral qualities of one's enemy. He believes that if only his brother would submit to the coming new world order of samurai dominion, fighting will cease and everyone will live happily ever after. He never stops to ponder the cost of security in terms of freedom and never even considers the possibility that others may be less inclined to grant peasants the right to live their lives as they see fit. Add to this unstable base his love affair with Princess Azusa (Hoshi Yuriko) who just happens to be the daughter of his village's nemesis, and you end up with a potentially explosive mix.

The love-struck idealist (fool)	The real world comes crashing down on ideals

It is interesting to note the extent to which Abare is prepared to risk the lives of his fellow villagers in the name of their freedom. When he is lured into a trap and leaves the women and children defenseless, the village is attacked and a significant portion of the civilian population slaughtered. The scene with Abare walking the desolate streets amid corpses and ruins of charred houses made me wonder when the struggle ceases to be worthwhile. But not Abare: when he discovers the survivors hiding in the forest, he rails at his own wife for failing to organize proper resistance. In an even stronger affirmation of his rightness, the women of the village not only support the continuation of the war but in fact arm themselves to take direct part in what can only be described as certain mass suicide if it would ever come to pass.

Brother against misguided brother	Goemon's forces take the fort

Realism trumps idealism every day, and it is even more astounding that this realism is based on the somewhat abstract idea of freedom. Rational realism says that only fighting for their security would give the peasants a chance to enjoy life in peace (if they prevail). One simply cannot lay down his weapons and hope for the best, relying on the tender mercies of bloodthirsty tyrants. But realism also demands that one cease the struggle when there is no hope of success and arguably untrained women have none against crack samurai and professional soldiers. Ironically, it is idealism that keeps them going in that last stand. And unlike Hayato's starry-eyed pacifism which only led to disappointment and sacrifice, their warlike idealism would triumph, at least for a while.

Don't touch her, she's pregnant	Goemon in his element

I have a bootleg DVD that presents the film in an astonishingly wide 2.50:1 (not anamorphic). While the letterboxing is welcome, the quality was only average. There is some noticeable lack of detail due to compression, blur, and pixellation. The contrast has been boosted way too much leading to considerable loss of detail in the highlights. (Faces look as if smeared in oil with a light source shining directly on them.) At least it's better than a VHS tape. The monoaural audio is in Japanese (not much to complain about there) and the English subtitles are excellent. Overall, this is decent film to see and for now this is the only release subtitled in English.

March 11, 2006