Saw “Harakiri” aka “Seppuku” last night; another film in the NW Film Center’s Samurai series. Once again it starred Tatsuya Nakadai who played a role with a very different tone despite being an equally disillusioned character. He is the man. I feel like he used an octave lower voice for this role compared to “Kill!”. Of course it had to have a tragic ending to get across all its bitter points but I kept hoping for a justice-feuled slicing and dicing of all the bad guys. Despite its slow pace, or perhaps because of it, there is a gripping tension throughout the piece. I guess a movie that begins with a brutal seppuku ceremony featuring a bamboo sword used in the disembowelling is gonna rivet your attention early on.
IK