Awesome Japanese 'Jane Austen' samurai drama flick. The direction of the film is beautifully impressionist. Yôji Yamada crafts pictures of everyday life which gives us an inherent understanding of the life of Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada), a low-ranking widowed samurai with a senile mother and two daughters, working in the castle's stores and taking in piecework to get by. Sanada is really a marvel to watch; he adds a very sensible depth and modesty to the character, and infuses it with some understated comic acting as well. As his returning childhood friend, Rie Miyazawa has a beautiful, spirited feminity that makes Sanada seem even more of a macho hunk in contrast.

A rather quiet film, The Twilight Samurai is a gentle, insightful, beautiful piece about a widower who works as a dull accountant for a war lord. And, oh yes, he happens to be a hell of a good swordsman when necessary. He reluctantly fights and only seeks to do exactly enough to halt the attacks. All that might seem to be code words for dull, but Twilight Samurai is a fascinating, unique and thought provoking glimpse into the life of a low-ranking Samurai. Highly recommended for any fan of samurai films.