SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
THIS MOTION PICTURE IS OFFICIALLY AN AFFILIATE OF THE FILMMAKING PARAGONS.
Harakiri is Masaki Kobayashi's 1962 samurai jidaigeki aka period drama. This is yet another example of how you can hit a masterstroke with the simplest material possible!
We follow a tragedy that befalls the family of Tsugumo Hanshirō (Tatsuya Nakadai). Due to harsh climate of poverty, his son-in-law Chijiiwa Motome (Akira Ishihama) decides to seek employment from a Daimyo house under the pretext of performing Harakiri. Since this is a recent rampant trick used by many ronin to obtain free money, he's forcefully executed by the clan samurai. How Tsugumo arrives at the same dwelling to run his revenge course forms the crux.
More than the revenge itself, the film takes the theme of questioning samurai honor at hand. And the actual shattering of the façade towards the end, with samurai hairlocks thrown into trash bin being a small example snapshot among many others is astonishing to say the least! Scenes and sequences are first class! The way the clan samurai passive-aggressively coerce Motome to perform Harakiri with his bamboo-made short sword, Tsugomo's persistent demand of who should be his Second and his entire past narration are full of unflinching tension! Little baby dying of fever with no adults in the house with money for doctor visitation plus the clan samurai bringing Motome's corpse back to his house with a condescending undertone are extremely pitiful.
Performances are seasoned and the dialogues crafted with careful, precise and sharp choice of words are terrific, albeit having some verbal exposition here and there. The black and white photography coupled with its meticulous lighting is visually stunning and haunting at the same time! Showcase of bamboo forest, wind rustles and cemetery are motion paintings! Framing, composition and blocking are flawless! Speaking of flaw, possibly the only thing that's worth complaining about is the lack of lethality / impact from any of the weapon's cuts / stabs. But again, that's something miniscule compared to every other jewel the feature has to offer. The very climactic battle with Tsugumo facing countless enemies prior to him performing Harakiri before the matchlocks could claim his life had an impossibly realistic and nerve-racking choreography! The same can be said about the actual hairlock-amputation events, including the epic sword standoff!