While there is
something to be said for the restraint in filmmaking shown in a majority of Bushido Man, I fear that this will merely leave many audience members feeling assaulted
by the final sequence. It combines two distinctly different styles together,
which is an interesting approach for a film about a man adapting numerous
martial artist techniques into one, but the end result is a disjointed film
blending classic martial arts with the gruesomely masochistic cartoon action seen
most often in a Sushi Typhoon release. This film could have been made two different ways, and either would have been better than attempting both.
Beginning
without any extraneous material, Bushido Man is about the pilgrimage of a
modern-day warrior who travels across Japan
The film
essentially exists with three segments; there are the portions in which
Toramaru narrates to Gensai, the meal before the fight, and the seven fights
themselves. There is not much else needed for the film to work, although the
climax and abrupt resolution feels completely separate from the rest of the
film. The premise was original, but it seemed that there was nowhere to go with
it except for absurdly and unrealistically violent. This is particularly
strange considering the amount of effort put into the realistically
choreographed fights in a majority of the film.
The Blu-ray
includes a making-of featurette. The visuals in high definition are nearly as
uneven as the narrative, though there are moments within fights that it truly
enhances the film. Often the sound design alone can improve the excitement of a
film, which is the case in some of the sequences of swordplay.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5.5/10
Historical Significance:
3/10
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