Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) is on a bit of a samurai kick lately. His Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai came out earlier this year in Japan, but in the States, his previous foray in to the genre, the big-budget 13 Assassins, is only just hitting theaters.
The film centers around “a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a wartorn future,” and its 45-minute climactic battle has been hailed as “inventive and ingenious” and “just plain mind-blowing.”
13 Assassins is playing in limited release now — and in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre. I’m planning on going to the 2pm showing on Friday. Anyone interested in joining me?