The Samurai III: Duel At Ganryu Island
Sacha Weakland
Here\u2019s the thing: Otsu is allowed to feel her feelings and express them! However, because she does not feel safe in this relationship, she\u2019s unable to self-soothe and puts her anxieties about Musashi\u2019s chosen career on him, instead of having an open and honest conversation about these fears and getting real about what part of those fears she owns. And because Musashi is emotionally unavailable and in MY hot take, conflicted about whether he actually wants to be a samurai, he is unable to ever truly hear her. She is just a constant obstacle representing his own internal conflict about his career. It would be great if they could have a conversation at a neutral time (when he is not about to go maybe die in a duel or \u201Cfind himself\u201D for 3-5 years) where they both reflectively listened. Musashi, what are you hearing Otsu say? Otsu?
Following his newfound wisdom and immense regret for his failed awkward romantic advances on Otsu, Musashi Miyamoto retires his sword and pursues the life of a reserved commoner. He has taken in a younger apprentice and grown a liking for woodcutting. However, the world around the samurai continues to seek him out, including the Shogun and those who bear grudges. Otsu makes her attempts to reunite with the man she cares about, all while Akemi also pursues him. On top of that, deadly swordsman Sasaki Kojiro finally meets Musashi and challenges him to a duel. He accepts and will fight him in the following year. Time flies and Sasaki moves up in class, whereas Musashi takes comfort in farming in a small village. The story concludes plot threads established in the trilogy and all leads to a final confrontation between the two warriors on Ganryu Island.
The last thing to highlight is the phenomenal climax with the duel between Musashi Miyamoto and Sasaki Kojiro. The buildup is excellent, with Musashi easing tension with a calm conversation with a boatman as he rides a boat to Ganryu Island and creates a large custom wooden sword to help balance against Sasaki's long sword. Then, the fight itself is superb with solid choreography, dramatic weight, heart-pounding intensity, and outstanding cinematography. There is also a lot of atmosphere added with Ikumi Dan's music scoring and the morning sun rising as these two samurai cross swords on a beautiful beach.
But as for the other samurai of this movie, the dangerous Sasaki Kojiro, this is where the film prepares its buildup. For as he and Miyamoto Musashi meet at the beginning to prepare their duel, they decide to train separately for a whole year; and come back on the exact same date at a specific location.