A Samurai in Time (2024)

"Lightning sends a samurai hurtling forward through time", which was the description on the JFF Theater page forthis film, and the tag "comedy" was what I knew about this film when I started it. (As usual, I like to go in blind.)
All right, I thought, time travel, man out of time, comedy -- we all know how his one will go, right?

Wrong.

Well, at least I was wrong. The story continually surprised me with how it developed, to the point that I had no idea how it would end until the last five minutes or so.
If a film with a widely used trope like "time travel" can do that, then it is an automatic recommendation from me.

I don't want to spoil the actual plot for you either, but let me just say this: This might have been labelled as a comedy on JFF Theater, but it is not only that. I found more than a few thoughts about other, more profound themes in there, I was breathless during the "last scene", and I shed some tears in between.

This film is both a spoof of and a hommage to Samurai films and Jidaigeki TV shows (Samurai series). It both honors an image of the noble samurai and points out the horrors of killing and war. And, as a lot of Japanese productions do, it shows people's dedication to their craft, whichever it might be. (Also, food appreciation. Where Thai media has ghosts, Japanese media will always have people loving their food.)

The main character is so loveable, I wanted to give him a hug more than a few times -- and all of the other recurring characters are very likeable too. Watching them help and respect each other was a joy -- even the relationship between the main character and his (perceived) antagonist is full of respect.

There was some slight romance, but nothing explicit, and open-ended; it was one of many sub plots, and certainly one of the less important ones.

What makes the film even more outstanding is the performances. The fight scenes, "choreographed" and "not", look very good to my untrained eye, which is as it should be, given the two main topics here, and the actors balance comedy and darker emotions very well.

I am sure that aficionados of Samurai genre will see even more love in the film, but it was already brimming with love for filming, Samurai movies and history for me.

I don't even need to pose my three question here; it was excellent, I loved it, and everybody should give this film a try!

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