Assassination

aka: Ansatsu
Japan 1964, 104 minutes
Dir. Masahiro Shinoda
In Japanese with English subtitles
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama

Feat. Tetsuro Tamba, Eiji Okada

Aroview: Japan’s turbulent, late 19th century landscape is the backdrop to this fiercely stylized tale of a masterless whose sword edge thrusts between the Shogunate and the all-powerful Emperor.

Dir. Shinoda’s awareness of civil war and social unrest combine with memorable visuals to offer a high-performance political thriller under the skin of a punchy samurai movie.