Samurai II picks up immediately where the last film left off, with Miyamoto going off to have adventures and seek enlightenment. I find myself wanting to continuously compare these films to The Lord of the Rings, and if I may be allowed to continue on that point, this film ups the action, introduces some new heavies for Miyamoto to do battle with, and makes the first film better in retrospect because now the full story is coming to light. The first Samurai film acted as a feature length origin story, and while Miyamoto is still developing, he's now a more interesting character, as is his douchebag friend Matahachi. It's been years since I've watched these films so I don't remember the outcome, but I'm hoping Matahachi gets his because fuck is that guy insufferable.
One thing about this film that makes me laugh is how ridiculously macho it is. This theme featured in the first film as well, but it starts getting over the top here, with constant references to people not acting "manly." Not that it's just the men who get this; the women here also get shit for not being womanly enough. Some are happy to play the lady in waiting, while others suffer sadder fates. In one scene a character is raped by a man who's been courting her, while her parents overhear it and smile in the next room. The dad approves of it, and when the mom displays some slight disapproval, her husband reminds her that she too was reluctant the first time. If anything deserves the label "rape culture," this is it. I can't imagine a society where rape is not only inevitable, but can be laughed off.
Even though I already suspected this going in, watching Samurai II hammered home that these are not individual films but one story sliced into three parts. This is clear as the movie starts; the action picks up right where the last film left off, with nary a prologue in sight. In fact, a bored editor could splice the opening shot immediately after the final shot of the previous film without much tweaking. Therefore, I'm going to adjust the ranking of this and just label it as The Samurai Trilogy and smash all three films into one spot on the list. The first film left me a bit soft, but the second one has so much more going on with character development and conflict that now I've bought into this series. I'm looking forward to watching the next one. However, because this story isn't finished yet, I'm not going to change the ranking. The ending of a film is crucial, and the final ranking of this trilogy hinges on how well it can stick the landing.
1. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
2. Seven Samurai (1954)
3. The Seventh Seal (1957)
4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
5. Grand Illusion (1937)
6. Hard Boiled (1992)
7. The 400 Blows (1959)
8. Walkabout (1971)
9. The Killer (1989)
10. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
11. A Night to Remember (1958)
12. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
13. The Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956) (tentative)
14. Amarcord (1973)
Next time: I finish off the Samurai Trilogy, and then...oh fuck, I just saw what comes after it and now I feel sick.
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