(2006) Formally unimpeachable if surprise-free samurai melodrama by 75-year-old director Yoji Yamada (The Twilight Samurai, plus more than 40 films in the Tora-san series). It concerns a low-ranking samurai (Takuya Kimura) who works as a food taster at his lord's court. He is blinded by shellfish toxin. When his loyal wife (Rei Dan, a standout) is abused by a superior, the samurai trains to avenge her honor. Blind swordsman are a reliable staple in the Japanese film industry, so the revelation that this one can fight isn't a shock. However, the director blends in some new psychological details, like Kimura inhaling the odor of his steel blade, and other so-old-they're-new angles, like a cage of finches representing domestic happiness and the steady procession of the seasons of the year to color the background of the story. Another plus is the reliable character actor Takashi Sasano as the blind soldier's servant and better self. (Plays in Fremont at the Naz 8.)

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