FREAK FILMS: SWORD OF VENGEANCE

If you still find yourself hungry for Samurai action after a Kurosawa marathon, look no further than the Lone Wolf and Cub series. Sword of Vengeance is the first gem in the series. Set in Japan during the Tokugawa era (1603-1868) we find our hero. More accurately, our anti-hero. The film opens with Ogami (Wakayama Tomisaburo) beheading a child ordered to death by the Shogunate government. Ogami holds the ominous occupation of Shogun Executioner, and his blade knows no prejudice, be it man, woman or child. In fact, he doesn’t even bat an eye. He is a bad motherfucker. Unfortunately for Ogami, he is wrongfully accused of treason, and his wife is murdered by the Yagyu Clan. He has no choice but to wander the earth atoning for his past, all the while staying true to the code of the Bushido. This is where Cub comes in. Ogami has an infant son and, with his wife dead, gives Junior a choice: join his mother in death or become a Ronin, like his father. See, I told you he was a bad motherfucker. In his quest for redemption, Ogami finds himself hunted by rivals and assassins from his old clan. To make matters worse, Ogami and the tyke take refuge in a bathhouse commune overrun by a band of murderous thieves. And no respectable bathhouse would be complete without a kindly whore. It is in scenes with her that we see that Ogami is not just a killer but a compassionate man. What makes this flick sing are the sword fights. They are not the fantastical acrobatics as seen in Crouching Tiger. But they are best represented in the last act as Ogami’s enemies catch up with him. Director Misumi Kenji uses tight choreography and slick camera work to make Ogami’s slaughtering of half an army look possible. We are also treated to lots of spouting blood. The moral of the flick: Never underestimate a chubby old dude with a baby. Ghost Dog ain't got nothin’ on Lone Wolf.