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Twilight Samurai

main information

english title Twilight Samurai
original title Tasogare seibei
french titleLe Samourai du crépuscule
year2002
countryJapan


cast & crew

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director YAMADA Yoji - 山田洋次
actor SANADA HiroyukiSeibei Iguchi
MIYAZAWA Rie - 宮沢りえ
TANAKA MinYogo Zenemon
YOSHIDA Kenji
TAMBA Tetsuro - 丹波哲郎Tozaemon Iguchi
KISHI KeikoIto
OMI Toshinori
KITAYAMA Masayasu
SATO Masahiro
AKATSUKA Makoto
NAKAMURA Baijaku
KANBE Hiroshi
FUKIKOSHI Mitsuru
YAMAZAKI Takashi
KOBAYASHI NenjiChoubei Kusaka
OSUGI Ren - 大杉漣
FUKAURA Kanako - 深浦加奈子
producer FUKASAWA Hiroshi
YAMAMOTO Ichiro
NAKAGAWA Shigehiro
composer TOMITA Isao
scriptwriter YAMADA Yoji - 山田洋次
ASAMA Yoshitaka
original story FUJISAWA Shuhei
artistic director NISHIOKA Yoshinobu - 西岡善信
DEGAWA Mitsuo
editor ISHII Iwao
cinematographer NAGANUMA Mutsuo
sound director KISHIDA Kazumi
costumes KUROSAWA Kazuko


additional Info

genresdrama
chambara
duration2H09
production studioShochiku


synopsis

original title たそがれ清兵衛

At the start of the film, the main character, Iguchi Seibei, becomes a widower as his wife dies from tuberculosis, a common illness at the time. His samurai colleagues give him the condescending nickname "Tasogare Seibei," or "Twilight Seibei," because when it gets dark in the evening, he disappears to look after his senile elderly mother and two young daughters, Kayano and Ito, instead of going out with the others.

Things change when Seibei's childhood friend and the sister of one of his samurai friends, Tomoe, returns to town. Recently divorced from an abusive husband, she quickly bonds with Seibei's children. When her former husband returns in search of her, Seibei defends her honor in a duel, beating the husband, Koda, with only a bokuto (wooden practice sword) even when Koda battled with a steel sword. However, when Tomoe's brother, Iinima Michinojo, asks Seibei to marry her, Seibei refuses, citing his low standing and how he doesn't want her to live in poverty.

The final turning point in the film happens when Seibei's clan, having heard of his prowess with a sword, wants him to kill a former samurai retainer, Yogo Zen'emon, who refused to commit seppuku after acting against the interests of the clan. Seibei is also promised a rise in standing for this service. He is reluctant at first, but has no choice but to agree to do the task. Seibei's kodachi (short sword) fighting style is matched up against Zen'emon's ittōryū (single long sword) swordsmanship in an intense duel indoors. In the end, Seibei kills Zen'emon and finally gets to marry Tomoe.

In a brief epilogue, his younger daughter explains that their happiness was not to last: he died three years later in the Boshin War, Japan's last civil war.

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