Actually, when i want to go outside France and stay away from America on TV, i just fall on Japan. This is good because the land is beautiful, full of traditions, ahead of its time and exceptionally neat and clean (the opposite of my country so...).
Thus, what stroke me first at this fictional documentary was that an half millennium back, Japan had already those traits. While Europe was in Dark Ages, with gloomy castles, Japan appears more colorful.
But, quickly, this sense of wonder changed into one of revulsion : the value of human, and especially those defeated, seems to be crushed under the pompous rules of the warrior (the Bushido) : bodies are used to test the cutting edge of swords ; head are cut off for trophies ; suicide is rated as honorable exit... I'm not idiot : wars have always been bloody but as i have written in my « World's Busiest Train Station » review, i have the feeling that this culture takes the individual for cheap and all that matters is the « clan ».
This documentary opens my eyes about this unknown past of cruelty: But unlike the actual trend to bomb as many images as possible, the documentary prefers a slow pace, trough a fictional story and it's good, all the more than the Japanese cast and the production are excellent. I really appreciate also the modern lesson in swords as the Master Tanaka explains exceptionally how to win a duel with the precise movements. Thus, for the first time in my life, i understand that sword fight is technical.