Since I saw “Chaos Samurai”, I’ve wanted to write something for this film, but I put it down and put it down again, and I can’t believe that four years have passed.
One morning in early spring, I was walking on a noisy road like every trivial morning, when the slow singing voice of Iuka Assai came on my headphones. The sudden surge of emotions like cool sea water overhead, weaving through the crowd, the world became instantly silent. I miss you all so much.
I’m going to take a look at the collection of Chaos Samurai and watch it slowly, episode by episode. After four years, it is nostalgic, but also to re-examine, once did not understand, seem to understand, thought to understand, through the time to change one by one. For this film, not like two words so simple, years of this fascination cannot explain themselves. To write a movie review, it has never been so difficult, it is just good here and there bad, which character do not like which bridge. It is always not hurt feelings do not involve themselves, to be able to comment, so I read reviews love to see the evil criticism, only you do not love, you can analyze clearly, if you love a person, you want to list exactly how he her various good and bad.
There is no logical and clear love. So the emotions that I couldn’t put into words four years ago are still hard to express today, but I heard the news of Chaos Warriors’ music producer Nujabes’ death in a car accident.
Chaos Warriors is not a fairy tale made for children, even if you remove all the gore and nudity from the plot. It has a funny veneer that children can see, and a heavy core that children can’t understand. Two renin samurai accompany a young girl on a journey, a metaphor about time and destiny. Meeting, traveling, searching, life and death, love and affection, parting，The Four Seasons” is the most beautiful end credits I’ve ever seen, with the sunlight penetrating through the gaps in the leaves, full of memories of the wind. The wind is the main character throughout the whole line, no fantasy and Ran’s journey began because of her, together with the search is the smell of sunflowers samurai, but walking on the road, which is not carrying their own past, looking for the first missing things in life. The tone of the whole film is just like the first 25 episodes of the end song, sprinkled with sunny sunflower fields like a warm piece, and along with the cover cannot hide the sadness.
Chaotic and violent beginning, the process of the chicken, the cloudy ending, the human nature of the story is difficult to describe good and evil, the feelings between the characters are blurred, and the meaning of their respective pursuits is not yet clear. The wind at the end of the journey to see the person who has been looking for more than ten years, but also witnessed his death; “except the sword does not believe in anyone” of no fantasy to throw down the sword in hand to exchange the wind’s life; somehow and powerful Ran with their own lives to fight an invincible man. The two survivors were lying on the couch, and Maya said, “In the past, when I met someone stronger than myself, I wouldn’t give up easily, but now I’m not in the mood to kill you anymore.” Jen said, “I seem to know what I’ve been looking for. You are the first companion I’ve ever met, having been alone.” They laughed at each other and shouted to the wind pushing in the door, “I’m hungry!” I suspect that director Watanabe shares my passion for this kind of hidden narrative, which scratches the itch and pain of the heart, the beauty and cruelty that cannot be captured.
I wishfully believe that Watanabe has similar chivalrous feelings as I do, with romantic nostalgia for a time when swords were fought in the sky. I always feel that the emergence of firearms is the greatest regret in human history, decades of hard training cannot withstand a bullet from a hundred meters away, the light of the sword faded, the beauty and temperature of killing no longer exists, and chivalry has become a legend. Watanabe arranged for Karina to say to Ran at the time of the duel, you and I were born in the wrong era. He also arranged no fantasy clutching the knife in his hand “I do not believe in anything except my own ability.” Rolling firearms did not bring light and heat to the world, the century after the disappearance of chivalry is cold, and the era that can survive that way, at least worthy of a poignant elegy.
I saw a lot of discussion about whether the wind liked Ran, or no illusion. What struck me most about their relationship was a segment in episode 20. The wind is asked to choose between the illusion and Ran to accompany her, in fact, the wind is asked to choose who to leave. The wind hesitated and decided to let Ran go with Share, and Ran agreed without a second thought. At the parting junction, Ran said “Take care” and turned around with Share and left. The wind smiled and waved vigorously, looking at their backs lost, “I can’t believe it, always together, so simple to agree”, the wind turned his face to see no fantasy, eyes wrapped in tears “I thought he would refuse, but ah … “The nerve-racking Wu Yan was shocked”, huh? I would have preferred to go with her, really!” Under the warm sunset sunlight, no fantasy angry away, the wind finally cried out (here the voice acting is really great). I went back and watched this section several times, first laughing, and then crying.
It is difficult for people who do not travel to understand such feelings, and strangers meet on the road, walking together for a while, know nothing about each other’s origins, but in this moment together, eating at a table, resting under a roof, looking at the same scenery, across common difficulties. The feelings of travelers are difficult to categorize, not love, certainly not counted as affection, as and more than friendship, that is an instinctive attachment, even if they know very little about each other. This kind of companionship in the face of the inevitable and at any time will come to parting, each knowing full well. It is difficult to continue to be a long-lasting common life, the person traveling is too essential or too ideal for his or her own, settled down days have they cannot afford the smallest details. Nothing is more difficult than a long and uneventful stay together, and then a long and arduous journey is impossible to surmount. I think Watanabe is also a person who understands, before arranging for the wind to question itself again and again “really want to find that person? Then the trip would be over. I wish we could keep traveling together like this.” So it doesn’t matter who the wind chooses, what she loves more is always the one who left, because he left, the feelings of travelers are so strong because of the separation.
The first time I watched it four years ago, I was worried that the ending of the story would ruin the film, afraid of a tragedy in which all died, and even more afraid of a cheesy happy ending of being together forever. The three people said goodbye to the sunny weather, at the fork in the road in different directions, continues their wanderings. The light final song plays, three figures walking alone, everything like back to the beginning, still strong, still alone, and the people in the play and the play outside the guest understand that life has a different meaning because of this journey, even if they will never meet again. The best way to end, to fulfill my favorite story
