Love and Honour Details

Delicate Film, Beautiful Man

It helps to understand the era in which the film is set, and the social standards of that time, but really, it isn't difficult to understand.

Lucky to have a position with a clan when so many samurai were masterless, the main character is bored and would prefer to set up his own dojo to teach sword skills. Even with his abilities, he is a simple food taster for a lord he seldom even sees, never mind have a relationship with. But that was normal during the era of the samurai.

When he is affected by the food he tests, his life becomes meaningless and his role in his society becomes little more than a burden to those he knows. His wife, loving him, seeks help, and makes a sacrifice for him. When he finds out what she has done, the story really takes off.

Kimura Takuya is a gorgeous man, incredibly popular with the women of Japan, and he can act. Although this film is about the masculine subject of samurai and honour, at heart it is a woman's film. Don't expect a Babycart-esque bloodfest, because what you will see is a delicate, poignant little film that gently probes the life of a samurai in the Edo period