305 S. Campbell, Suite 101
Springfield, MO 65806
(417) 429-0800
info@moxiecinema.com
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back. (NR, 121 min.)
(TBD)
Japanese New Wave series @ The Moxie
Free for Members
Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo Sasahara, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord's mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family’s surprise, the young couple fall in love. But the lord soon reverses his decision and demands the mistress’s return. Against all expectations, Isaburo and his son refuse, risking the destruction of their entire family. Director Masaki Kobayashi's Samurai Rebellion is the gripping story of a peaceful man who finally decides to take a stand against injustice. [Janus]
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama
"Austerely anti-authoritarian."
— Chuck Stephens, Village Voice
"This Toho-Mifune production represents all the best in the Japanese period film."
— Staff, Variety
"Amazing: stirring, subversive and, beneath their dauntingly severe surfaces, sneakily lyrical."
— Terrence Rafferty, The New York Times
"As extreme a samurai film as I've seen in both senses (the ethics and the violence), and one of the best."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"A heart-felt action film that is eloquent and haunting in its reflections on the abuse of powers by the ruling class."
— Dennis Schwartz, Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
"As powerful, meditative, and gripping as anything Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, or other Japanese masters have created."
— Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt
"No one could seethe better than Mifune, but what gives the movie equal shares of exhilaration and heartbreak is the feeling that pours out of him."
— Michael Sragow, The New Yorker
"The film's escalation of tension is almost unbearable, and Mifune erupts with a ferocity that's as righteous as it is ultimately tragic, for Kobayashi refuses to soften the film's devastating imbalance of power."
— Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times
"Standing out in both Kobayashi's career and samurai cinema more broadly, Samurai Rebellion is a rare treat. It somehow feels specifically situated while simultaneously timeless and universal. The film's commentary on social and political power dynamics still resonates today."
— Frederick Blichert, Senses of Cinema
"In Samurai Rebellion, Kobayashi took his study of the individual against society as far as he could, and enriched it by refusing to restrict himself to the manly world of sword fights. By focusing on family, and particularly on women in family roles, he widened his subject and heightened its emotional potential."
— Donald Richie, Criterion
