Zatoichi in Desperation (1972)

Zatoichi is a humble, honorable man who also happens to be a master swordsman and blind.  This movie starts off with a terrible accident where Zatoichi’s attempt at kindness to an old woman accidentally brings about her death.  Because of his personal code of honor he is driven to find the woman’s daughter to make amends for the accidental death.  Finding her a prostitute he goes to a gambling house and makes enough money to purchase her contract and set her free from that life.  But Zatoichi's attempt to help the woman results in much mayhem and violence as he accidentally stirs up trouble.  The Yakuza that run the gambling house are angry that he beat them for the money, the boyfriend of the woman freed is angry that Zatoichi had the honor of buying out her contract, and of course there is a master swordsman looking to cash in on the ever present bounty on Zatoichi’s head.  In the end the blind swordsman walks away from a town that is strewn with the bodies of his enemies. 

Zatoichi in Desperation isn’t my favorite movie from the series, but it is another solid entry.  The story follows the familiar pattern of Zatoichi trying to save the virtue of a beautiful woman, this time by setting her free from her life as a prostitute.  What I did find interesting is that in this case the woman actually seemed a bit happier in her life as a prostitute and instead of being grateful to Zatoichi is confused by his kindness.  Her confusion also seems to confuse Zatoichi, who expected her to leave town to be with the man she loves instead of staying with him.  This is an interesting twist on the formula that these movies follow.  There is also a subplot involving a young girl and her brother that I kept expecting to be a bigger part of the story, but doesn’t.  I'm really not sure why it was even included other than to show that the Yakuza gang is a nasty bunch. 

As is the case with all of these films the fight choreography is very good.  Though there isn’t as much with Zatoichi as I had expected.  But the ending really picks up and the movie delivers a killer final showdown with the Yakuza.  Zatoichi in Desperation is also shot unlike any of the other films in the series.  The entire movie is very dark with much of the action happening in the shadows.  The camera is also tilted at strange angles that hand in hand with the lighting makes for a surreal feel to the movie.  Unfortunately they use this style far too much during the fights, which means much of the action is hidden from view.  Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the earlier Zatoichi movies, but I wanted to see more of the fights.

In the end this is still a really good movie and worth checking out.  You can purchase Zatoichi in Desperation separately or as part of the Blind Swordsman box set.  Check out the AnimEigo website for details at http://www.animeigo.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer