Feudal honour is challenged by love with overwhelming consequences. Even die hard Zatoichi-ites will admire the deftness of Yamada's masterly direction.

It's a satisfying story, played out in decorous period surroundings of the classic warrior tale but Yamada's 79th film lacks any hint of surprise or excitement.

The storytelling is all rather flat, as is the lighting. And the duel, when it finally comes, is something of an anticlimax.

Unites Ozu and Kurosawa's cinema. [Full review in Spanish]