Main Cast: Aya Ueto, Kenji Kobashi, Hiroki Narimiya, Jô Odagiri, Kazuki Kitamura
Release Year: 2003
Country: JP
Run Time: 115 minutes
Plot
Orphaned as a little girl, Azumi (Aya Ueto) is raised in the forest with a group of ten children by their master (Yoshio Harada), who trains them to be peerless assassins. Azumi and Nachi (Shun Oguri) are the strongest of the fighters. When the group comes of age, the master gives them one final test. He tells them to team up with the person to whom they feel closest. Then he tells them to kill that person, explaining that an assassin never gets to choose whom to kill. The teens reluctantly fight to the death. Then the survivors are brought out of the woods to begin their work, assassinating the corrupt warlords who are preventing peace in the land. The assassins, particularly Azumi, perform their missions with flair, but complications arise. One of the teens (Takatoshi Kaneko) is poisoned by a ninja's blade, one (Kenji Kohashi) falls in love with a circus performer (Aya Okamoto), and Azumi begins to question her desire to live the violent life of an assassin. Meanwhile, one warlord (Naoto Takenaka) cleverly escapes their blades, and together with his bodyguard Kenbei (Kazuki Kitamura) and a "monkey-faced" ninja, Saru (Minoru Matsumoto), they find Bijomaru (Jô Odagiri from Bright Future), a violent madman, release him from prison, and unleash him upon the young team of assassins. Azumi, based on the manga by Yu Koyama, is the first of cult director Ryuhei Kitamura's (Versus) films to be made within the Japanese studio system. It was shown at the 2004 New York Asian Film Festival, presented by Subway Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
Ryuhei Kitamura follows up his propulsively violent gorefest Versus with the slightly more thoughtful and character-driven Azumi, which is definitely a step forward for the filmmaker. With Versus, he demonstrated a distinctive virtuosity in shooting fight sequences, and little else. Azumi offers a more coherent story line and a semblance of character development along with the absurdly stylized, sardonically witty mayhem that the director's fans expect. Azumi develops an unlikely friendship with Yae (Aya Okamoto), a goodhearted circus performer, who tries to sway her away from her violent ways. But, as Azumi points out, "There are so many evil people in the world. Someone has to kill them." While the teen assassins are mostly young and pretty, the villains are a delightfully motley crew. There are the Sajiki brothers, a grisly pair introduced attempting to maim each other in an arm wrestling competition. There's the stoic, clever Kenbei (Kazuki Kitamura), the pragmatic "monkey-faced" ninja Saru (Minoru Matsumoto), and the amazing Bijomaru (Jô Odagiri). The fey Bijomaru, with his otherworldly swordplay skills, is an entertaining nemesis for Azumi, and whoops with girlish delight at the prospect of doing battle with a true warrior. Odagiri makes an unforgettable impression in the role, but unfortunately there's more than a hint of homophobia in the character's conception. Despite that ugly facet, Azumi is undeniable fun for action fans. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
