Review of Samayou Yaiba さまよう刃

I'm starting the year 2011 with a movie review after being MIA for a couple of months. It's the usual drift, work keeps me away from blogging even on weekends and I decided that it's time to do something which I enjoy after neglecting this blog for so long. I'm finding it really difficult to finish a full-length drama these days (sometimes because the genre or quality of the drama fails to keep me engaged) so you will probably notice that I will be posting more movie reviews from now on. I watched quite a number of Japanese movies when I went on a business trip to Europe (the flight was more than 12 hours so I finished many movies along the way) so you can expect reviews of some newer titles here.

And here is the first movie review of 2011 - Samayou Yaiba starring Terao Akira, Takenouchi Yutaka, Ito Shiro, Sakai Miki. Actually, what sparked my interest in this movie was the fact that I had read the novel by Higashino Keigo first and found the story really gripping. In a nutshell, it's about a father who seeks revenge against those who violated and murdered his daughter as the Japanese law protects juvenile criminals from the same type of punishment given to adults.

Nagamine Shigeki, played by Terao Akira who last impressed me with his subtle acting in Yasashii Jikan, is a single father who has a 15-year-old daughter Ema. However, his peaceful life is destroyed as Ema is abducted by a group of teenagers and sexually assaulted by them. After Ema dies, her corpse is disposed by the perpetrators Tomozaki and Sugano but the police have no clue as to who are responsible. Nagamine then gets an anonymous phone call with a clue leading him to Tomozaki and kills him after getting the information about Sugano. While he is on the run and searching for Sugano, Oribe (Takenouchi Yutaka) and Mano (Ito Shiro) are hot on his heels. He also meets Wakako (Sakai Miki), the daughter of a small inn's owner, who helps him out.

The key issue being discussed here is, are juveniles using their ages as an excuse to escape punishment when they are committing the same or even worse crimes than adults? In Japan, anyone below the age of 20 doesn't have his/her name reported in the press even when they commit a crime. In addition, the punishment meted out is usually mild e.g. a probation sentence or supervised stay in a facility for a short period of time. This is done with the intention of giving these youngsters a chance to change for the better. However, there's always been talk about how those below 20 use their ages as an excuse to get away with things and the grief it causes the victims when the perpetrators don't get their due punishment. In this story, Nagamine's daughter suffered at the hands of teenagers but he knows very well that they won't be punished in a satisfactory manner since the law's stand is to allow these youngsters to change. He decides to takes things into his hands since nobody can help him. No doubt he is fully aware of the consequences, the helplessness and anguish he suffers because of Ema's sudden death overshadows his logic.

I don't know whether by hiding the identities of young offenders or punishing them lightly will help them change. This is a double-edged sword where people will be divided. However, I think this protective stand should change as time progresses. There's been more serious cases involving teenagers these days and in some instances, those people show no remorse in their actions. It would have been better to do an assessment on the offenders or the nature of their crimes before deciding what to do rather than giving a full coverage for everyone, whether they deserve it or not.

The novel strongly conveyed the dilemma of this issue and when you read the description of how the teenagers violated Ema, I'm sure you will feel the fury rising within you and understand why Nagamine snapped when he found the video at Tomozaki's apartment. It was simply too painful to read about, much less watch it on video. Nonetheless, I don't think the story was trying to take the side of Nagamine only. It also showed you the other side of the argument where the parents of the offenders always think the best of their children and are reluctant to accept that their children are monsters. Ultimately, it is up to the viewer or reader to decide which side they are more inclined towards.

Frankly speaking, I prefer the novel to the movie due to a couple of reasons:

1) The pace of the movie was too slow.
Given the amount of material in the novel, it is to be expected that there will be some omissions so that the story can flow more smoothly. However, even after making the cuts, the pace was still painfully slow at several junctures. If I hadn't read the novel, I would have thought that the scriptwriter was trying to stretch the story so as to fit the length of the movie. Of course, I have to admit that watching the movie in an aircraft seat isn't the best way to enjoy a movie and I was quite disturbed by the turbulence along the way. Nonetheless, to make me fall asleep several times throughout the movie is an "achievement" considering that I stayed wide awake when I was watching Nodame Cantabile for the 2nd time.

2) The story structure was messy.
The point about the story having some corners cut brings me to the next grouse I have. When you try to remove some of the connecting chains, there is a need to string up the developments so that the story flows well. It was quite confusing to see events moving from one to another without crucial connectors at times. It is of course unfair to compare it to the novel which had a few hundred pages to do its magic but there have been better adaptations and I'm quite sad to see that the movie didn't do justice to the novel. The gripping factor was sorely missed especially in the ending which just fizzled out unlike the novel which left questions for the reader to ponder over.

3) The cast was under-utilised.
Terao and Takenouchi were capable of doing better but a lot of their emotional struggles were removed in the movie. I didn't get the feel that they were truly in a dilemma over their stands and actions.

And my ratings for this movie...
Story: 4 out of 10 (If you have not read the novel, this movie is passable. If not, I think you will be grumbling about the loopholes in the story and structure)
Acting: 5 out of 10 (The story restricted the cast's ability to shine, which was a pity in my opinion)
Theme song: 2 out of 10 (The BGM didn't really leave an impression on me)
Visual effects / Scenery: 3 out of 10 (Nothing particularly impressive to mention)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 2 out of 10 (Nagamine didn't really have a lot of interaction with Wakako in the movie unlike the novel which showed how they understood one another. Oribe and Mano's characters weren't particularly close in the first place so there wasn't any chemistry to speak of)

Total: 16 out of 50

Final verdict: It's probably better to read the novel after you watch the movie or you will be very disappointed.