Saya-zamurai is a strange movie. It is, strangely, at the same time its best quality and its biggest flaw.

The beginning almost lost me: we follow a pityful character - an old samurai, with no sword and almost decaying. He is followed by a child, plus burlesque assassins, introduced in a very-tarantinesque way, and with slash of blood copied from Kill Bill. On top of that, one of the first scene with the child (fetching medicinal plant) is badly shot and looks horribly false.

I did however go on with the movie and was happy to do that. With the next part and the challenge imposed on our main character - I won't say our hero!, the movie changed its tone and become a hell lot better. Not perfect, there is a part of repetition that the director tries to mitigate but could'nt fully because of the setting of the story. There was maybe some funny scenes typically Japanese that I did not get. But that part, a bit "Kikujiro"s Kitano" inspired, in its own way, deserves your viewing, until the end twist.

That tale of the redeeming of a shameful samurai and father manages to go over the comedy (visual comedy mainly) and reach a depth I wouldn't have believed only moments before. Reflection on what is a show, it does not limit to that as it will get you emotionally involved as well.

In conclusion, this movie is full of weaknesses but still manage to propose very good parts if you let it a chance.

Very dry dead pan comedy has a deeply moving sting in it's tale.

The plot of the film has a sad sack samurai trying to make a prince laugh. He has 30 days and 30 attempts to do it or else he will have to commit suicide. What looks like a one note film flips in the final minutes to be revealed to be about something else entirely The whys and wherefores are of what is going on is not what you think at the start.

Like the directors earlier film SYMBOL (and his other films as well) this film requires that the audience member be patient and wait for the whole film to unfold. If you get bored or give up the pay off will be lost. The fact that the directors films are not easy to explain I think keeps people away.

On the other hand if you are willing to work with the film and wait for the pay off I think you'll be greatly rewarded. I was moved to tears.

A truly great film.

Director Hitoshi Matsumoto (best noted for his bizarrely funny debut, BIG MAN JAPAN) has a filmmaking approach strongly influenced by Japanese television; if film relates to his output, it's primarily through TV skits and parody. It's to our benefit that we can enjoy a film like SCABBARD SAMURAI - the story of a buffoon with coke-bottle glasses on the lam from the clan. He's forced to endure a strange punishment: he will win clemency from a local lord - if he can make his forlorn son smile.

The set-up is far-fetched, spiced up with stock characters from familiar Japanese genre films. The remainder of the film, and the scabbard samurai's life, is spent trying to come up with increasingly elaborate gags, which capture the imagination of the populace. The gags are funny in a desperate, straight faced sort of way - not unlike a Japanese Buster Keaton - making for classic physical comedy.

Matsumoto doesn't act in SCABBARD SAMURAI; instead, he relies on visual narrative and an appealing cast of supporting actors to tell its story. Some might prefer BIG MAN JAPAN with its insane special effects, but SCABBARD SAMURAI captures Matsumoto's comic talents in a plot that's engrossing and genuinely amusing.