28th of July "The Twilight Samurai" (Japan, 2002)

The twilight Samurai (129 minutes) is the first in a trilogy of samurai dramas directed by Yoji Yamada, better known for the much loved Tora-san movies of which he made 48. The Twilight Samurai follows the life of a poor low-ranking samurai in the 19th-century and focuses on his everyday struggles with financial hardship and conflicted emotions and loyalty. There is still some action and violence but with more realism than chanbara style samurai dramas and there is something more profound in the story. Hiroyuki Sonada, better known to Western audiences as Ujio in the Hollywood movie The Last Samurai, plays the lead role. For more click here. This film night will be cohosted with the Film Group set up by Atsuko Betchaku. For this please visit http://japaneseinstitute.jimdo.com/ (see Film Group). Director:Yôji Yamada Writers: Shûhei Fujisawa (novel), Yôji Yamada(screenplay) Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa and Nenji Kobayashi