The Twilight Samurai

For my third movie, I watched The Twilight Samurai. This was a very different form of fighting, because swords were used instead of fists or kicks. There weren’t a lot of really high-tech camera shots. The camera was stationary most of the time, and if it did move, it would just zoom in or out. Also, the camera would switch back and forth from one person talking to another. I felt like the director used a lot of natural lighting in this movie. When there were scenes outside, it was very bright, but inside it was very dark. During the fighting scenes, the director used widescreen shots to show all the fighting; there were no close up shots. The main character noticed flowers blooming on the tree, and I think that was supposed to symbolize that his life was going to bloom and get better. People would always find dead bodies being carried by the river from peasants, usually children that have starved. I think the river was supposed to symbolize life in a weird way. Every time bodies were found, people were either fishing, or washing clothes, or something that were necessities of life. When the bodies were found, the people who found them would send their souls up to Buddha. Even though people died in the river, when they were found, they were sent to Buddha to start a new life and be blessed. One of the main character’s daughters was the narrator and would narrate what was going on in her head or with others during different parts of the movie. When the main character was fighting with this one samurai, I kind of felt like it was a horror film. They started fighting in the living room, but went behind this wall; the camera never moved, but you could still see the two men because the wall was made out of spaced out boards. Then they went around the corner, and you couldn’t see them because the camera stayed in the same place. While they were behind the wall, you could hear what was going on, but you couldn’t see anything. Also, one of the two men would be pushed out from behind the wall, but then they would go back behind it. It gave you the feeling of suspense and it kept you guessing.