Part of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair
Following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, HARAKIRI, directed by Masaki Kobayashi is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system.
“Undeniably the greatest anti-samurai film ever made. It still hits a nerve over half a century later because it’s the quintessential anti-establishment film; and as long as authoritarian regimes exist around the world, the movie will always be relevant…. The imagery in Kobayashi’s “Harakiri” HARAKIRI is as potent as the message itself.” —Wael Khairy, rogerebert.com “The film has a steady, hypnotic momentum; the director, Masaki Kobayashi, wrings as much drama out of facial twitches as he does out of sword fights.” —Michael Sragow, New Yorker “A film reflecting situational ethics, in which the better you know a man the more deeply you understand his motives…. Elegantly composed and photographed to reflect the values it contains.” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
