The Pass – Last Days of the Samurai / 峠 最後のサムライ / Tōge saigo no samurai (2020)

Obscure Japanese Film #123

Koji Yakusho

This Shochikuproduction stars Koji Yakusho, well-known for his leading roles ininternational hits such as Shall WeDance? (1996), The Eel (1997)and, most recently, Perfect Days (2023).Here, he plays Tsugunosuke Kawai (1827-68), a senior samurai retainer preparingfor civil war while simultaneously doing everything he can to prevent it, eventhough it means being called a coward by many of his peers as a result. Thestory is set in the years 1867-68 when the influence of America and Europe isbeginning to make itself felt in Japan, and Kawai has been inspired in hisneutral stance by the example of Switzerland. However, the film certainly hasan ambivalent attitude towards the West as the opening narration suggests thateverything would have been fine in Japan if only the Western world had leftthem alone. Indeed, Kawai himself is a rather contradictory character – despitesticking his neck out in the hopes of maintaining peace, he ends up gleefullymowing down his opponents with a Gatling gun! (Incidentally, although such aweapon may seem out of place in a samurai movie, it is a historical fact thatKawai purchased a Gatling gun, though whether he used it himself in battle Ican’t say.)

 

ThePassis based on a 1968 novel by Ryotaro Shiba (1923-96), whose work also providedthe basis for films such as Castle ofOwls (1963), Assassination(1964), Hitokiri (1969) and Gohatto (1999). The film appears to be afaithful adaptation as far as one can tell without reading the book, which isyet to be translated into English (though some of Shiba’s work has been). 

Kyoko Kagawa

 

The man responsible forthe adaptation is writer-director Takashi Koizumi, a former assistant directorto Akira Kurosawa who had made After theRain (1999) from Kurosawa’s script after his mentor’s death. Among the castare long-in-the-tooth Kurosawa veterans Tatsuya Nakadai (b.1932), Kyoko Kagawa(b.1931) and Hisashi Igawa (b.1936), though they are given nothing verychallenging to do and their parts are cameos of the “wheel ‘em out for oldtimes’ sake” variety. Still, we have to be thankful for any appearance by thesegreats of Japanese cinema these days. 

Hisashi Igawa

 

The historical accuracyof the piece seems generally solid with the exception of the casting – KojiYakusho, then 64, is playing a 40-year-old, while his former acting teacher TatsuyaNakadai, then 87, plays Kawai’s boss, samurai lord Tadanori Makino (1844-75),who died at the age of 30! Perhaps wisely, no attempt has been made to make Nakadailook half a century younger – the filmmakers’ presumably thought that only afew history nerds would notice the discrepancy. 

Tatsuya Nakadai

 

ThePassis often very impressive visually and looks like it must have been given agenerous budget, with the large-scale battle scenes being especially well done.On the other hand, its quieter moments are sometimes a bit too fussy and picture-postcardyfor their own good, with some scenes feeling pretty lifeless as a result. Themusic is also a mixed bag, varying from sentimental light classic piano to moredramatic and effective orchestration for the battle scenes. However, for me it ismainly in the script department that this film is lacking as, not only does itpresent us with a nostalgic, rose-tinted view of the past, but we have tosuffer dialogue like, “Your samurai spirit will inspire countless others. Youare our ideal. You shall live on in history!” For me at least, the film isideologically dubious in the way it seems to lament the passing of feudalism.While it may be true that, under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan enjoyed 260-oddyears of peace and stability during the Edo period (1603-1868), this was only achievedby enforcing a policy of isolationism and a rigid social hierarchy. Such a situationmay have been comfortable for the aristocracy, but was doubtless a lot less pleasantif you were one of the oppressed, and the film never shows us this side. 

Takako Matsu as Kawai's wife, Suga
 

Despite these quibbles,it’s a shame that The Pass has yet toreceive a proper release overseas. While uneven, its best bits make it worthseeing and it features an engaging performance by Yakusho in the lead. Kawaiwas also certainly an interesting figure worthy of a movie (I believe this wasthe first feature film in which he was the main character, though there hadbeen TV dramas before).

The film’s release wasdelayed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For a more detailedsynopsis, see Hayley Scanlon’s review here.