A young ronin who stares at his sword with ardor.
This was the germ of an idea that I'd first had years ago.
How will I kill another person with this sword? How can I?
Some samurai must have thought that.
Even if it's my master's order, how can I bring myself to do it?
Wouldn't some of them have thought so?
Since no samurai remain, I went to the next best thing, a WWII veteran and asked him if he'd encountered any conscientious objectors. Did he know anyone who'd quit because he didn't want to kill or be killed? His answer: "Becoming a soldier wasn't questioned as it is today. Even if you didn't want to join up, there was no escaping it. War was such an ordinary part of everyone's life that it was simply inevitable. People today must find such a story of samurai incomprehensible."
The weight of his words contextualized that single line, "A young ronin who stares at his sword with ardor" for and stayed with me.
In Fires on the Plain I explored the ultimate horror of war so this time I wanted an entirely different theme for my movie. Then that line that had been floating in my head, became the kernel for this movie. As I inhaled the current state of the world I had an urge to let it out like a scream. The single line inflated into a story and with an incredible cast of performers and a dependable crew, I had a movie. A movie that is simple, relevant, and gives voice to my scream.
Travelling back in time from the 1940s of Fires on the Plain and condensing all the firearms into one sword drew me a little closer to the essence of man.
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monty
Director's StatementA young ronin who stares at his sword with ardor.
This was the germ of an idea that I'd first had years ago.
How will I kill another person with this sword? How can I?
Some samurai must have thought that.
Even if it's my master's order, how can I bring myself to do it?
Wouldn't some of them have thought so?
Since no samurai remain, I went to the next best thing, a WWII veteran and asked him if he'd encountered any conscientious objectors. Did he know anyone who'd quit because he didn't want to kill or be killed? His answer: "Becoming a soldier wasn't questioned as it is today. Even if you didn't want to join up, there was no escaping it. War was such an ordinary part of everyone's life that it was simply inevitable. People today must find such a story of samurai incomprehensible."
The weight of his words contextualized that single line, "A young ronin who stares at his sword with ardor" for and stayed with me.
In Fires on the Plain I explored the ultimate horror of war so this time I wanted an entirely different theme for my movie. Then that line that had been floating in my head, became the kernel for this movie. As I inhaled the current state of the world I had an urge to let it out like a scream. The single line inflated into a story and with an incredible cast of performers and a dependable crew, I had a movie. A movie that is simple, relevant, and gives voice to my scream.
Travelling back in time from the 1940s of Fires on the Plain and condensing all the firearms into one sword drew me a little closer to the essence of man.