Saya Zamurai
By Hitoshi Matsumoto
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Casting: Takaaki Nomi, Sea Kumada, Jun Kunimura
Production year: 2011
Runtime: 01h43
Production company: Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. Ltd.
Kanjuro Nomi is an aging samurai who only has a scabbard. With a past that made him throw away his sword and refuse to fight, he now journeys to nowhere with Tae, his only daughter. Kanjuro becomes a wanted man for deserting his lord and is sentenced to ”The Thirty-Day Feat”: a formidable task to restore a smile to the sad prince who has lost his mother. He has thirty days to complete his assignment and one chance per day; if he succeeds, he walks free. If he fails, he must commit seppuku (the Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment). The pressure is on as Kanjuro and Tae risk their lives in a battle of wits without a sword. Will the samurai be able to save himself and his beloved daughter ?
Locarno 2011 – Piazza Grande
Pusan Film Festival 2011
Sitges 2011
Mar del Plata 2011
Asian FF 2011 – Czech Republic
Tromso FF 2012 – Norway
Black Movie FF 2012 – Switzerland
Deauville Asian FF 2012
Hong Kong IFF 2012
CPH-PIX FF 2012
Transilvania IFF 2012
NY Festival of Japanese Contemporary Cinema 2012
Sarajevo IFF
Asian FF – Dallas
Durban IFF 2012
Films From the South 2013 – Norway
Kolkata IFF 2012
Casa Encendida 2013
RiverRun IFF 2013
« A film of saber without saber (or almost), doubled by a comedy which turns to drama with an epilogue as unexpected as moving. » - 20 Minutes
« Saya Zamurai, behind the apparent frivolity of its words, constitutes a deeper reflection, perhaps, on the show itself. A bizarre marriage of a Zen tale with a film by Laurel and Hardy. » - Le Monde
