Sword of the Stranger TALKBACK

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Armielene C

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Sword of the Stranger is the greatest movie of the past year that nobody saw. And I'm not just talking about a borab, I really mean pretty much nobody saw it: it doesn't even have a page on Rotten Tomatoes! After a brief LA run to qualify for the Oscars, Bandai didn't make due with their promise of an expanded release last fall. Instead, they teamed up with NCM Fathom, a distributor of "event cinema" (generally limited exclusive showings of operas, sports games, concerts, and rereleases of older films, AKA nothing that has a chance at getting film critics' attentions), to dump the movie in a bunch of theaters for one night only with little fanfare. The theater I went to was practically empty. A shame, really, because it's an excellent example of the anime and has what it could have taken to introduce people to the medium. KiRAB attracted by the cute style would have their minRAB blown by the stunningly gory action scenes; adults going in for a mindless action movie would be surprised by the strong story.

Clearly inspired by the works of Akira Kurasowa and Sergio Leone, Sword of the Stranger is an action-packed adventure set in Feudal Japan. A young boy named Kotaro is being hunted down the Chinese army for an alchemical experiment, and a nameless ronin must protect the boy and his dog to atone for a terrifying past. Kotaro and No-Name are very likeable characters; there's a sweetness to the interplay between No-Name's experience and weariness and Kotaro's curiosity and determination. In the dub, Aidan Drummond is a stand-out, playing Kotaro much more authentically than any of the middle-aged women who normally voice young boys could. Dealing with drugs, race, and the politics of bushido, their story is constantly interesting and exciting.

This is Studio BONES's third feature (after the disappointing Cowboy Bebop movie and the good but somewhat controversial Fullmetal Alchemist movie) and their first not based on a TV show or manga. Given inexperience with theatrical budgets, the few animation flaws (a man with a fake eye appears to have a real one in a few shots) are forgivable. The character designs are expressive, the backgrounRAB appropriately impressionistic, and the battles are heart-poundingly awesome, able to both shock and still leave room for some humor. Please don't miss this movie when it comes to DVD. With the promise of pirate samurai at the end of the film, I'm now begging for a sequel! A
 
That my friend, is very sad to hear, and I wish I could've gone to see it, hopefully I can buy it when it gets released on DVD or Blu-Ray

And there's a samurai pirate at the end, AWESOME!! (this is as close as we can get to pirate ninjas)
 
Really wish you wouldn't dump on Fathom Events. While it's only one day, it's a HELL of a lot more widespread than the alternatives. Sorry, but no movie is worth traveling one or two states(at least) over just to see a time or two.

I was pleasantly surprised at the audience composition. It was very broad in pretty much all demos. I was surprised to see a few old people there as well.

As for the movie itself, highly entertaining. I'm not just saying that cause I saw a very crappy movie before it either. The emotional flow was powerful without being hammy.
 
It was excellent. Not groundbreaking, but very well done. I was expecting a straightforward action film, but it ended up being stronger overall as a movie than I was expecting. The relationship between nameless and the boy was actually rather endearing at times, and the fighting scenes were definitely first rate. The hero had a familiar dark past, but while this mattered it didn't overwhelm the movie by any means. It's a good story that mostly manages to carve out its own identity. I will also agree about the "emotional flow." That's a good way to put it.

Somewhat amusingly, Luo-Lang (the main antagonist) basically had Scott McNeil's Ali Al Saachez voice. So if you liked him in Gundam 00, you'll love him here. Also, the acting in general seems to be stepped up a notch.

So yeah, I enjoyed it. I will buy the DVD. Studio Bones did good on this one.

The DC theater where I saw it had pretty good turnout. It was probably over half full. On the downside, I arrived before the 7:30 showtime and yet it was already running. Rather sure I missed only about five minutes at the most, but I was annoyed. That's entirely the fault of the theater in question, though.
 
Well, not quite.
Kotaro tells No-Name he wants to be able to leave Japan, and to make the money, he'd be willing to become a pirate. If that isn't a set-up for an awesome sequel, I don't know what is.
 
Well...

Assuming of course that No-name lived. Those occassional blood splatters underneath them as they rode off were ominous.
 
To be honest, I did not even consider that until No Name's VA brought it up in the interviews. The blood spatter is ridiculously small, and No Name looks like he's been bandaged somewhat. So I really don't accept the idea that he's bleeding out, or else we would've seen more of it. I think it was more attention to detail than an ominous sign, but that's just me. Additionally, I think the message of the movie would kind of be ruined if No Name actually died.
 
Dying and leaving behind the semi-helpless child he just saved is atoning for his sins? No Name left behind the endless struggle between greedy men who all ultimately die for their foolish arabitions. To me, the point of the movie was that he atoned not by keeping his sword sheathed, but by using it to protect what is precious and as a result, find a better life. The whole dialog between him and Kotaro at the end signified to me that No Name had found his place in life after struggling so long as a foreigner. For him to just die at the end...it doesn't sit right with me at all. Furthermore, there are significant hints during the course of the movie that seemed clear to me that he would live on. Like Kotaro promising to give him a name, and Kotaro wanting to learn how to use a sword. It just seems to me that it was intended for him to live, rather than go through all that build up just for him to die at the end.
 
I think that's fine either way.

The ending is purposefully meant to be arabiguous. It's open to interpretation. One can say it was No Name going on with Kotaro and just bleeding a little bit, or you could say that No Name was bleeding to death after finally finding a measure of peace.

Anyone remeraber Pan's Labryinth? Similar to that ending. It can work either way you look at it.
 
But it was clear Ofelia died. Maybe she went into an afterlife or maybe the end was just a dream, but it was clear she'd died.
 
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