I've entered that part of my list of Criterion films of 1965 where I am simply cleaning up the "remainders," those titles for which I don't have an actual release date (as listed on IMDb.com.) For such films, I just lump them all in at the tail end of the given year. Usually, these are either short subjects or documentaries, the kind of movies where a theatrical release date is understandably difficult to determine. But as to why Samurai Spy doesn't have its premiere noted on IMDb, I have no idea. It seems like it was a sufficiently mainstream release that someone would have bothered to track down and record the occasion of its debut, but I guess this one just fell through the cracks. Still, it's quite fortuitous that Samurai Spy should come up in my queue right now, just after I recently reviewed both The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Zatoichi and the Chess Expert. Both titles offer pointedly marked contrasts, as well as the obvious similarities in subject matter, to this one.
In 1965, spies were a well-established staple of popular entertainment, cashing in hard on the trend most famously popularized by the James Bond series of novels and films. TV shows like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy and Get Smart jumped on the craze, while Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man" was just one of many radio hits that sought to capture the buzz in pop music. I have no idea whether director Masahiro Shinoda was nudged to follow the pack in this way as well, but the espionage and paranoia themes certainly places Samurai Spy in its cultural Cold War context, even if the historical setting of the film takes place a full 350 years earlier in the tumultuous period following the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan. The script goes out of its way at the beginning of the film to explain in some detail the historic circumstances that set up the underlying conflict. That's especially helpful for Western viewers, even those like me who have by now watched quite a few Japanese period films and have earned a basic grasp on that nation's history but still need some remedial tutoring every so often to keep the major developments straight. (I have occasionally toyed with the notion of trying to sequence all of Criterion's historically based movies in chronological order of the eras they portray... but therein lies a road to madness, I fear.)
Despite the writers' efforts though, first (or even second) time viewers of Samurai Spy are likely destined for confusion if they intend to keep track of each twist of the story so that it all winds up making sense at the end. Criterion does provide some assistance by way of a character index that provides a spoiler-free summary of the main players, their affiliations and respective motivations as one of the video supplements, and its one of the few bonus shorts that I would recommend as almost-essential viewing before actually getting into the feature film itself. It's also handy to have the cast listing on the insert handy so that you can refresh yourself on who's in which clan as the various pursuits and conspiracies unfold.
But really, I think it's just as well to not get too hung up on all that notekeeping, if the narrative ambiguity doesn't provoke too much frustration, because there's so much to be enjoyed by just plunging into the gorgeously brooding, cynical, monochromatic atmosphere that Shinoda conjures up, with ample assistance from cinematographer Masao Kosugi (who also partnered up on the exceptional Pale Flower and another pair of visually impressive films - Assassin and With Beauty and Sorrow - currently available on Hulu Plus) and the brilliant composer Toru Takemitsu.
Once we establish our crucial identification with the titular character, Sasuke Sarutobi (the name of a legendary ninja whose fame was first established in pre-20th century Japanese folklore and popularized in books, manga and films as those media flourished), we can tag along on his whirlwind journey through a labyrinth of suspicion, seduction and slaughter plotted against him. In this story, he's one of several individuals trying to track down Tatewaki, a high-ranking officer who's suspected by friend and foe alike of being on the verge of defecting to his rival clan. If that were to happen, some kind of history-making shift of power would ensue. All of this is actually of no more importance to the actual experience and outcome of the film than your standard Hitchcockian MacGuffin, but it stirs up the conflict that puts everything else in motion. And what compelling motion it is. This is not the kind of elaborate, mythic sword-dancing that first established the chanbara genre (e.g. Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy), nor is it the massively choreographed brawling mayhem that came to be associated with Kurosawa's greatest historical epics (most notably, Seven Samurai.) Shinoda's approached is highly stylized, making use of extreme camera positioning (very close, very far away, all kinds of unusual angles, but for the most part rather infrequent camera movement, making it all the more effective and auspicious when he does introduce a pan or tracking shot), incorporating slow motion, static positioning of the fighters, thick layers of mist and fog, copious sprays of blood and perhaps most strikingly, a robust bag of ninja fighting tricks that haven't made their way into the Criterion Collection to this point in my blogging journey. I could toss in a few screencaps to get my point across here, but the Vintage Ninja blog has done a fantastic job grabbing some of the most dramatic frames from Samurai Spy, along with insightful commentary, so I'm happy to link you to his work. Clearly, this guy is a lot more serious and informed about the way of the ninja than I will ever be.
What I presume to be Shinoda's motive, the takeaway he has in mind for his viewers, is a broad dissemination of mistrust and skepticism toward those worldly powers whose machinations all too often propel their subordinates to ruin for no perceivable advantage to the combatants themselves. Their methods include torture, religious persecution, blatant betrayals of allies, family members and friends, any and every manner of deceit that could be employed to conceal motives, sow seeds of doubt and confusion. The story of Samurai Spy makes use of a larger than life personality, placing him and his awesome, deadly skills in one of the most critical periods of conflict in Japanese history. But there is no sense of fulfillment at the end of it all, no pivotal turning point or hard-fought victory to point to that ushers in anything resembling a new era of peace or prosperity. After the critical stalemate of the final duel is abruptly broken in a way that strains credulity (in a wonderful cameo appearance by Shintaro Ishihara, a celebrated author, the future governor of Tokyo and brother of "the Japanese Elvis" Yujiro Ishihara), we're informed that six months later, yet another war broke out, though no evidence exists that our supposed "hero" Sasuke bothered to get personally involved with it himself.
Next: Simon of the Desert