13 Assassins was my first film to catch at the Dallas International Film Festival and it was certainly my most anticipated: a lengthy samurai film from one of the most legendary and prolific of modern Japanese filmmakers, Takashi Miike. Miike is credited as director of over eighty films, but he's best known in the States for his extreme horror films "“ Audition, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q "“ which feature extremely graphic violence and plenty of unsettling themes. That being said, I knew Miike could disturb me. I didn't know he could flat-out wow me.
Featuring impressive camerawork, insanely complicated staging techniques and booming sound design, 13 Assassins was an absolute masterwork to behold. Clocking in at just under two and a half hours, it certainly takes its time to get moving, but I didn't mind: the character development is surprisingly deep for a film that has "¦ you got it, thirteen assassins.
The story centers around a governor, Shinzaemon, who enlists the help of a group of samurai in order to assassinate Lord Naritsugu, a brutal warlord with a penchant for rape and violence. Surprisingly enough, Miike never enters the realm of exploitation while he sets up this vile enemy in the first half of the movie. Although some of his cruel acts are visualized, most of the damage he does gets to the viewer by way of rumor and early dialogue, making him seem almost mythical by the end of the film.
And speaking of the end of the film: you've never seen anything so extravagant. To call it a work of genius is almost slighting it. The last battle sequence is an exhausting assault on the senses, a forty-five minute showdown between the assassins and the Lord's armies, featuring one massive set-piece and hundreds of warriors on the battlefield. Yes, the final battle's probably a little too long, probably a little too exhausting, but it's so unprecedented that I can't help but praise it "“ the sound was incredible, the visuals astonishing and the acting superb. Don't let this one slip by when it hits theaters in April and make sure to see it on a big screen!
