Reviewed - 'Unforgiven' (Yurusarezaru Mono)

Unforgiven (or  “Yurusarezaru Mono”) is the title of  Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western of the same name. coming from the Japanese-born Korean director Lee Sang-Il. The story is set in Hokkaido around 1880, the beginning of the Meiji period following the collapse of the Edo Shogunate, at a time when the Japanese government is attempting to open the land (then named Ezo) populated by the indigenous, tribe-like Ainu people. In the Shogunate's waning days, Jubei Kamata (Watanabe, essaying Eastwood’s role), a former Shogunate swordsman, slaughters countless rebels under orders, earning a fearsome reputation in Kyoto. Following the government's collapse, he takes part in a series of bloody battles culminating in the decisive battle at Goryokaku... and then vanishes without a trace, eluding the new government’s determined efforts to capture him.

Eleven years later, Jubei lives on in desolate isolation as a farmer with an Ainu wife and their children. His wife, who apparently completely transformed a man whose only reason for existence was to kill  (although we never see this part of his life onscreen) into one of peace, has died and left him and their children in barren conditions. However, the man who vowed never to kill again finds himself driven to once again enter battle as a bounty hunter in order to make enough money for his family to survive. Together with his former comrade-in-arms, Kingo (wonderfully played by Akira Emoto), he faces the sheriff of a desolate town convinced in the righteousness of his own justice and another cycle of violence starts, leading to a violent, bloody showdown.

Now I should make you aware that I am a MASSIVE fan of the original 'Unforgiven', which works especially well when watched as a companion piece to another classic Eastwood Western 'The Outlaw Josey Wales'. So as keen as I was to watch this film - and as curious as I was to see how a Japanese adaptation of a Western would work compared to the numerous Westerns that had previously been adapted from Japanese Samurai movies (such as The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful Of Dollars etc) - I still attended the preview of this Warner Bros. release with some trepidation.

With this in mind, I’m delighted to report that this film is a splendid take on the original story. Yes, they are virtually identical and almost play out beat for beat in many places, but this film is still beautifully executed. The performances are excellent –  himself a screen veteran, Ken Watanabe exudes stoic charisma throughout and Akira Emoto is highly entertaining, effortlessly providing some of the film’s (rare) lighter moments.

Like the original, this Unforgiven does not give the audience many action sequences, but when they come, boy... do they hit home. Bloody, brutal, violent and economical. The final showdown sequence is notable, not only for the fight choreography and blood on display, but for the reactions of the characters in the fight itself, which are a mixture of unpredictable and funny, and feel very real.

The film is beautifully lensed and gives us beautiful landscape shots as well as concentrating on the brooding intensity that permeates Watanabe’s performance.

Overall I would heartily recommend this film for fans of the original AND for anyone wanting to see a film that really engages you and draws you in... while occasionally delivering some blisteringly violent and well executed action sequences. 

Unforgiven, released by Warner Bros., opens across the UK this Friday...

Follow Ross on Facebook...