The background is all in the late shogunate, the dawn of a new era has arrived, and the middle and lower classes of samurai are living in poverty, but they put down their swords and sing an elegy for the ugly samurai era that ostensibly adheres to the way of samurai, but is actually a game of power .
The film repeatedly shows scenes of practicing new firearms, as well as news of various coups and innovations. The film's foreshadowing is also well done. The poor life of Qingbingwei made him give up the symbol around the samurai - the sword, and exchange the sword for money, implying that he is far away from the samurai class and is being slowly abandoned. Katagiri's father committed suicide by caesarean section because of his allegiance, showing his strong identification with Bushido, and slowly dissipated in the predicament of what he saw and heard and love. They were different people who ended up being deviant, but deep down they were true warriors.
"Even for a samurai, killing is a very scary thing." Qingbingwei has always used a wooden sword to resist insults and protect his lover, but "loyalty" as the traditional code of samurai forces him to kill. The same is true for Katagiri, they are not willing to get involved in political disputes.
For samurai, "righteousness" > "loyalty". In the conversation with the patrolman, Qingbingwei learned about the "loyalty" of the patrolman. The former lord saved his life, and he has been following the lord with all his heart. He, but the patrolling used a wooden sword to him as an insult to him, and they fought to the death. Katagiri had to be ordered to kill his friend. Finally, when he learned that the feudal lord was playing with his friend's wife, he saw through the samurai's hypocrisy. In fact, he was still abiding by the "faith" of the samurai. A samurai could not betray his faith. The means of assassinating the feudal lord, and finally became a civilian.
A samurai defends those he loves. Facing the humiliation of his lover's ex-husband, Qingbingwei drew his wooden sword and knocked it down. Katagiri rushed into the merchant's house and carried his lover out.
A samurai should have dignity. When Katagiri was dueling his friend, he persuaded him to commit suicide, and in the end his friend was shot and killed, and he was furious.
The role of love in the film is not small, and the class difference is obvious at a glance. Kiyobei's lover is a bit higher than him, and he almost misses it because he can't match her. Katagiri's lover turned out to be his servant, and the difference in identity helped him to abandon his samurai identity.
These men, they have faith, loyalty, responsibility, courage, do not chase fame and fortune, and love their loved ones.
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