Unforgiven is the Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning Unforgiven, starring Ken Watanabe (Inception, The Last Samurai, Letters from Iwo Jima). Since Clint’s career was boosted by a remake of Yojimbo (A Fistful of Dollars), it’s fitting that his Unforgiven is remade as a samurai (technically a post-samurai) film. [Remarkably, it’s been 22 years since Clint’s Unforgiven – a powerful comment on both violence and movie violence.]
This Unforgiven is set in remote northern Japan beginning in 1869, as the samurai of the defeated Shogun are hunted down by the new government. We all know the story – a prostitute is disfigured, and her peers hire some retired killers to kill the perps. One of old vets is Jubee (Watanabe) the once invincible action hero who is now defeated and still reeling from personal loss (Eastwood’s Bill Munney in the 1992 film). When a younger man is troubled by his first kill, Jubee advises, “Drink until you forget. You’ll remember later”. His conscience remains tortured by an unpardonable atrocity that he committed during his fighting days.
Some of the vistas are so grand that they remind me of Kurosawa’s Ran and Kagemusha. Director Sang-il Lee’s version is more beautiful, funnier and more crisply-paced than Eastwood’s original. But Eastwood’s was more profound – and the comment on violence was more accessible. In both versions, there’s a ruthless and despicable villain to be dispatched. The killing is unadorned and very, very personal.
Ken Watanabe is always good, and here he channels Clint to produce a character worn down and defeated by tragedy, but still plenty dangerous. In perhaps an even better performance, Akira Emoto plays his comrade Kingo (the Morgan Fairchild role).
It’s pretty ambitious to remake a movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Unforgiven passes the test. It’s a damn fine movie.