Twilight Samurai

[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]I can't remember the last time I was this emotionally invested in a character, as I was with the main character of this fabulous film. [/font]Twilight Samurai[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif] is the story of a low-ranking bureaucrat/samurai named Iguchi Seibei. His wife has recently died, and her funeral was expensive, leaving him with very little money to support his two daughters, ages 5 and 3. His mother, who suffers from dementia, lives with Igushi and his two daughters. He also has a full-time peasant who works for him. Despite the sadness brought on by his wife's passing and his mother's suffering, Igushi is a relatively equanimous fellow. In one scene, a friend of his encourages him to be more ambitious. He responds that he is happy where he is, and that his life is full of joy because he gets to watch and spend time with his two little daughters, who he describes as little flowers blossoming into young women. His friend just laughs at him and teases him for being so odd. His fellow bureaucrat samurai also tease him, although behind his back, calling him "Twilight Samurai" because he always goes home to his girls at the end of the day instead of to the bars to drink with his colleagues. As a father of two three year old girls, and as someone who is equally eager to get home to them at the end of a work day, I was particularly drawn in to the character of Igushi Seibei.[/font]


[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]I don't want to spoil the plot for those of you that are interested in seeing this film, I will only say that the plot thickens when it is discovered that the happy-go-lucky Igushi is still very handy with a samurai sword. This film would be great to show my students at the end of our 7th grade unit on the samurai. I am excited to incorporate this film into my lesson plans for this class. The film could give students an effective window into what ordinary life was like for most samurai. [/font]