Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Gohatto (a.k.a. Taboo) is one of the first films I've seen that deals with homosexuality in the shogun era. It features two of my favorite actors, Tadanobu Asano (Last Life in the Universe) and Takeshi Kitano (Hana-bi), which elevates the film considerably. It's nice to see a samurai film that doesn't tell the same old story about two battling clans or where a group of bad guys must be defeated. Instead, Gohatto delivers a fresh approach and tells the story that goes on between the sheets.
No comments:
Post a Comment