At some point near ½ an hour in, this film really starts to get abstract. If it was headed that way before, there can be little doubt now. Strange beautiful, Branded to Kill-style. Japanese films never signed that treaty. Black and white. Welcome to my temple. “That’s when the drugs began to kick in.”

Stop. This film has two of the prettiest shots in all of film. The shot of the bridge (minute ___) and the framed shot of the three taking tea at the temple (minute ~30).

Might be interesting to compare with The Good, The Bad, The Ugly—not on exact plot overlap—but just some of the same concepts make appearances in both. “He let me go because he knew I wouldn’t talk under torture” and the long-distance shot at the end (I won’t explain to avoid spoiling; but I’ll give you an example from another film; remember in Conan when he looks up half-dead and sees Subotai running over the horizon; I thought so). Leone, Kurosawa, Shinoda…who else?

Bonus Thought: Okay, so why is Branded to Kill better than Samurai Spy? Or is it? Well, I think it’s purer. Branded to Kill is fucked up, no question. Whereas Samurai Spy is only partially fucked up. So it’s sort of like Branded to Kill is more balls out whereas Samurai Spy hedges. On the other hand, Samurai Spy does have two of the prettiest shots ever put down. And it also kicks ass on many levels. Hey. Truth is, if you like one, you’ll like both. If not, then I frankly don’t care which one you see.