ACF 132: Sword of the Stranger bi-coastal theatrical release starts 07.18.08

Sword of the Stranger

Directed by Masahiro Ando

Japan, 2007, 102 min

Sword of the Stranger is a wonderful movie that succeeds brilliantly both as an animation feature and as a samurai film.

The main characters are a young boy named Kotaro and his dog, which I believe is a Sheba Inu. (Full disclosure: I'm very partial to the breed because my wife and I have a nine year old Sheba Inu/Yellow Lab mix.) They're being chased by Chinese operatives of the Ming Emperor and their Japanese guides for reasons that eventually become clear.

Having escaped from a burning monastery, Kotaro hires a ronin (masterless samurai) known simply as No Name to help them get to another monastery. Along the way there are numerous bloody encounters. The action climaxes with an incredible battle scene that culminates with No Name facing off against Rarou, a fierce light-haired Westerner who's working for the Chinese.

No Name (l) faces off against Rarou

Although there are a few scenes in bright sunlight, most of the film is done in low-key lighting. The primary colors are earth-tones and are very well done, not the least but muddied.

Tomorrow, Friday, July 18th, 2008, Sword of the Stranger will begin a bi-coastal theatrical run, at The ImaginAsian Theater in New York and at The ImaginAsian Center in Los Angeles.

In New York the film will have an English language soundtrack, although the characters speaking in Chinese are subtitled. That's how it was in the DVD screener I had to review, and although I generally prefer original language soundtracks and subtitles, Sword of the Stranger had excellent dubbing. The Los Angeles screenings will have a Japanese language track with English subtitles.

I give it a 3.5 out of 4 star rating (highly recommended), and strongly suggest that you check it out if you can.