424) Destiny's Son (1962) Dir: Kenji Misumi Not Yet Released Date Seen: December 1, 2009 Rating: 4.25/5
Yowza, yowza, yowza. This is the Chanbara equivalent of an acid western. I feel as strongly about the brilliant preposterousness of this film as fans of Leave Her to Heaven do, I'm sure. It's especially amazing considering that Misumi went out to a career of generic Chanbara films, including some of the Zatoichi films and much of the Lone Wolf and Cub movies. Crazy like a fox. See my mention of it in my piece on Chanbara heroes for The Onion NY AV Club.
Played by fresh-faced heartthrob Raizo Ichikawa, Shingo is a strange hero for an even stranger film. Thanks to its focus on abstract images of swords glistening in the sun and extreme close-ups Destiny’s Son is the “Chanbara” equivalent of an acid western. Accordingly, Shingo is a pampered young swordsman that spends 3 years traveling and returns a worldly, though still fresh-faced young man. On the road, he picks up a dirty fighting technique which, when using during a duel, causes two different opponents to forfeit. This is akin to frightening off the pitcher in an All-star game by threatening to bunt: logically it shouldn’t happen but somehow, Shingo is just that badass. He uses these newfound skills to prevent himself from repeating a cycle of violence which began years before his time with the death of his mother. Easily one of the most idiosyncratic heroes of the cycle.
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