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This film practically breathes �classic samurai movie� from beginning to end. Its protagonist is an elderly masseur who despite being blind is a deadly warrior- though naturally he conceals his blade in his walking stick. As the movie begins he comes upon a small village held in thrall by two rival street gangs. The other main character is a masterless samurai who has taken a job as a bodyguard of the boss of one of the gangs, for the sake of his ailing sister.
As the story unfolds the masseur gets drawn into freeing the town from the power of the gangs which brings him into conflict with the equally deadly ronin, who has been gradually eliminating members of the other gang at the behest of his boss. Fans of such films as Kill Bill or the Last Samurai will find much amusement here with swordplay and dismemberment aplenty though the gore is not quite as pronounced as in Tarintinos outings. Though all should be warned this is not a �western� samurai movie. It�s distinctly Japanese in style in that not all characters are deeply explained, it lacks the typical rock and roll soundtrack of western films and some other elements which are inexplicably different. Still for anybody with open mind a very enjoyable flick, especially the slightly strange end scenes (Japanese river dance anyone?).
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