A Magnificent Film

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2015)

This movie takes its place in feudal Japan during the 16th century in which certain warlords are fighting amongst themselves to attain total supremacy. As luck would have it, a thief by the name of "Kagemusha" (Tatsuya Nakadai) just happens to bear an alarming resemblance to one of these warlords named "Shingen Takeda" (also Tatsuya Nakadai) and this strange coincidence is immediately seized upon by Shingen for its practical applications. In essence, this gives Shingen a perfect double in which to confuse his enemies. At least, that was his original intent. Unfortunately, Shingen is shot not long afterward and rather than allow his kingdom to totally collapse he convinces his brother keep his impending death a secret for 3 years to give his generals some time to adjust to the situation. This means employing Kagemusha to his fullest extent. And even then it might not be enough. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a magnificent film which incorporated stunning visual effects to achieve an incredible film experience. An excellent movie.