10 Greatest Samurai Films Of The 21st Century

Known in Japan as Saigo no Chūshingura, The Last Ronin is about a group of 47 Samurai who combine arms to avenge their fallen lord. While you may go in expecting enormous skirmishes on the field of battle, the film's true focus is much more subtle, homing in on the warrior culture that binds the group together.

Only one major fight scene is present in the film and it's framed as a flashback showing the way the Samurai fought as a collective group. Director Shigemichi Sugita homes in on their code of honour and how it influences their pursuit of the enemy. The story's main anchor is Koichi Sato's Kichiemon Terasaka who is chosen to chronicle the samurai's exploits.

The film is laced with subtleties such as how the warrior's code both unleashes and suppresses emotions while also influencing their commitments to personal duty. Maintaining one's personal dignity and integrity is shown to be a crucial component of the character's lives and as they clan closes in on their prey, the bonds between the group are put to the test.

It makes for an incredibly expressive film, packed with elements of loneliness, loss and affection. Beneath their disciplined nature, the humanity behind the swordsmen remains.