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Ichi (2008)
Oct. 5th, 2015 12:47 pmIchi (Haruka Ayase) is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.
One day, members of the notorious Ban-ki gang surround Ichi and prepare to rape her. A passerby then comes to defense of Ichi. The man’s name is Toma Fujihira (Takao Osawa) and although he seems terrified of the men, he still attempts to stand up for the seemingly defenseless blind woman. Once the Ban-ki members draw their swords on Toma Fujihira, Ichi now comes to the defense of the shaking man. After unleashing her blade, she methodically kills all of her attackers.
Ichi and Toma Fujihara then travel the countryside together developing a friendship that hints at romantic interests between the pair. When the couple arrive in the next town they are then confronted by other Ban-ki gang members who attempt to exact revenge on Ichi. (asianwiki)
I am sure that anyone who has seen the dorama JIN was compelled to watch this movie as well, since Saki-san (Haruka) and Jin-sensei (Osawa Takao) are the main characters in this movie. Why is their love doomed is my question.
Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with this movie. I guess I was expecting more battles with the sword, a more impressive Ayase Haruka. The story is very slow-paced, or maybe it was the script, which wasn't good. A big crime, because to have these two amazing actors that couldn't prove their talent! I don't know, I think I was expecting the unexpected, and was let down in the process.
What I really liked was the cinematography. It was gorgeous, the background, the snow, the green fields, the clean water of the lake. The villain was colorful, and there were two R-rated scenes that surprised me because so far I haven't seen this kind of scenes in a Japanese movie before.
Not my favorite Haruka movie. It needed a better scriptwriter in my opinion.
My rating: 7/10
One day, members of the notorious Ban-ki gang surround Ichi and prepare to rape her. A passerby then comes to defense of Ichi. The man’s name is Toma Fujihira (Takao Osawa) and although he seems terrified of the men, he still attempts to stand up for the seemingly defenseless blind woman. Once the Ban-ki members draw their swords on Toma Fujihira, Ichi now comes to the defense of the shaking man. After unleashing her blade, she methodically kills all of her attackers.
Ichi and Toma Fujihara then travel the countryside together developing a friendship that hints at romantic interests between the pair. When the couple arrive in the next town they are then confronted by other Ban-ki gang members who attempt to exact revenge on Ichi. (asianwiki)
I am sure that anyone who has seen the dorama JIN was compelled to watch this movie as well, since Saki-san (Haruka) and Jin-sensei (Osawa Takao) are the main characters in this movie. Why is their love doomed is my question.
Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with this movie. I guess I was expecting more battles with the sword, a more impressive Ayase Haruka. The story is very slow-paced, or maybe it was the script, which wasn't good. A big crime, because to have these two amazing actors that couldn't prove their talent! I don't know, I think I was expecting the unexpected, and was let down in the process.
What I really liked was the cinematography. It was gorgeous, the background, the snow, the green fields, the clean water of the lake. The villain was colorful, and there were two R-rated scenes that surprised me because so far I haven't seen this kind of scenes in a Japanese movie before.
Not my favorite Haruka movie. It needed a better scriptwriter in my opinion.
My rating: 7/10
