Kitano Takeshi’s The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is every bit as violent as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. But the difference between the two films is obvious: Gibson uses violence to oppress his characters while Kitano uses it as a liberating force.
Zatoichi was a blind swordsman whose adventures were celebrated in Japan via a series of long-running films and TV specials starring the legendary Katsu Shintarô. Kitano’s take on the story is gory, even gratuitous, and though the blood-splatter is sometimes uncomfortable and marred by less-than-stellar CGI during some sequences, Kitano philosophically likens the spectacle of carnage to a restorative spiritual ritual, recalling both the fervor of Aleksandr Dovshenko’s Earth and playfulness of Rouben Mamoulian’s Love Me Tonight?
Zatoichi is a work of formal delirium and its every frame threatens to burst at the seams. For Kitano, violence is the meta of his films. In his 1997 masterpiece Fireworks, it’s a canvas, but in Zatoichi, it’s also a musical instrument. Naturally, the blind Zatoichi (Kitano) uses sound to connect to the world outside his head, and at times it’s as if the people around him are more than happy to guide him on his way. Behold the sight of farmers plowing the earth with their hoes, subversively synced to Suzuki Keiichi’s outstanding tribal score (fans of Sasha and John Digweed will remember the pop star’s killer “Satellite Serenade”).
The plot may be weightless—something about two geishas joining forces with Zatoichi to avenge the death of their family—but there’s no mistaking the film’s philosophical profundity. Kitano contemplates a strange, seductive relationship between the space inside Zatoichi’s head and the sounds of the world outside, and in the guise of an almost-musical. This is violence as a political act of restoration, a means of healing and engaging people spiritually in the present, and it all unravels as a spectacle of musical tribalism with an existential kick.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.