As a rabid enthusiast for anything having to do the Arashi group member and actor Matsumoto Jun, I thought it appropriate that my first Japanese movie review have something to do with him. I looked long and hard through each of his movies, not that it was any hardship or anything, and I finally decided on his most recent cinematic production.
The Last Princess is a 2008 remake of Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress. It’s a tossup between critics on deciding this newer versions appeal. While some say it’s an entertaining piece that simply reflects the different directors views in regards to action movie clichés, others demote it as an unworthy successor to the Hidden Fortress. But I don’t care about the critics, or the value of a remake versus a ‘legend’. I’m shallow and female and therefore my only concern is Matsujun.
This was the first film I saw by this actor. Before, I’d only watched his television shows and I was continually pleased with his performances. Gokusen cemented him in my mind as an actor before I even knew him as a singer. So when I heard that he had made a movie, like a movie movie, I was enthusiastic about seeing his big-screen-thespianic powers. I was tricked in the beginning because it turns out that in the movie he’s sort of…gross looking. I think it was some sort of move to distract the fangirls from his looks so that we’d be forced to focus on his acting and the actual storyline. I was cool with that because I trust Jun.
The Last Princess is about Princess Yuki, the sole survivor of the royal family, trying to make her way across her own war ravaged lands and into allied neighboring territory. Once safe she plans to rebuild her forces with the gold that her family had hidden away. Her only problem is that with only one living guard left she has very little chance of making the journey without being caught and killed. One guard, even one as loyal as Hiroshi Abe who plays General Rokurota, can only do so much by himself. And getting his Princess out of enemy territory when he doesn’t know the way is not on that list. They get help from an unlikely source. Two peasants have just escaped an explosion in the mine they’d been working in. One is smart and the other is…uh, enthusiastic. Matsumoto plays the intelligent and largely self serving peasant Takezo, while his unplanned for companion Shinpachi is played by Daisuke Miyagawa. Captured after trying to beat the crap out of Princess Yuki, who they believe to be a boy at the time, the two men convince the general not to kill them by offering their aid in traveling across the territories.
They pick up a slave girl on their journey but unlike the original film she doesn’t live throughout the rest of the trip and dies soon after their rescue of her while trying to protect the Princess. The Last Princess has your typical storyline, morally bankrupt individual, in this case Takezo, falls in love with goody-two-shoes rich girl, Yuki, and somewhere along the way learns to be a better person who cares about the feelings and overall lifespans of those around him, while blowing a lot of crap up along the way. The storyline is a bit superficial but I don’t watch action flicks with undercurrents of romantic comedy so that I can think, I watch them for the entertainment value and The Last Princess had plenty of that.
I’m not sure how it was done in the original but in this version Princess Yuki travels disguised as a man. There are a few awkward scenes where the two peasants sense something a little off about ‘him’. And apparently Takezo’s spidy senses were tingling over-time because when it finally comes out that Yuki was female (after a strip search at a command post, complete with a sketchy military man who prefers little boys over girls, hence their release) he doesn’t seem too terribly surprised.
The acting, in the end, is really what makes this film tolerable. If there had been a different cast I would have turned it off and went on my way, but it managed to save itself. Masami Nagasawa who plays the Princess was endearing and noble and proud without coming off as corny and irritating and target practice worthy. There was no overacting involved in her performance and she was a strong female lead who I found myself cheering for rather than wishing she’d fall into a hole somewhere and die, as I do for a lot of Princess types. Daisuke Miyagawa was cute and funny. The perfect comedy relief. If he’d have been killed in the movie I think I would have shed a tear or two and I mean that without a trace of sarcasm. His character development is a treat to see. Like he knows, in theory, what he’s supposed to do to be a good person but can’t quite force himself to go that far.
Abe was the epitome of a loyal General, and I got seriously pissed off when the bad guy started beating on him. That doesn’t happen for me often with guys in movies unless they set off my stalker radar. Me being the stalker of course. Speaking of which…I was really proud of Matsumoto in this. Not because he was some epic actor or anything but because in all of his productions he always manages to show a different face. He’s never the same person twice and you can tell that he really gets into whatever his role is because he’s not afraid to get down and dirty to achieve the desired effect. Sure Johnny Depp did the whole dirty face, ratty hair, and bad teeth route but he did it in a sexy way. Matsujun did it in a ‘I’m poor, I work in a mine, and I’ll rob you blind in your sleep so I therefore have bad hygiene, bad teeth, grubby fingers, and am reasonably quick on my feet. Fear me.’ Way. I added the fear me part to his overall character analysis but you get what I mean. I respect him for that. And obviously his hottie light still shone strongly enough since Princess Yuki fell for him anyway.
I expected the ending to be different but I suppose it’s director’s Shinji Higuchi’s one concession at a non cliché film. After a lot of soul searching I was able to make my peace with it, and in a way I’m glad that it did end the way it did. Lets you give your own interpretation of what happened next.
Narie Bowie said in her New York-Tokyo review:
“With a stellar cast and an action-packed story, Higuchi has the makings of a blockbuster hit on his hands. The Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess will appeal to not only the Japanese audience that it’s intended for but it has a commercial appeal that will easily cross any language and cultural barriers. In fact, it could hold its own with any of the summer blockbusters that Hollywood is planning on releasing this year.” (article can be found here: http://www.newyork-tokyo.com/wp/2008/05/07/the-hidden-fortress-the-last-princess-review/)
Sounds like pretty high praise. In my opinion, rightfully deserved. Amazing locations, fun scenes, and copious amounts of large explosions and massive fight sequences, makes The Last Princess a cool way to introduce a new generation to a 1950’s classic. I haven’t watched it yet but I will, though I seriously doubt that I’d prefer it over the newer version. I’ll be sure to let you all know.
The last Princess was written by Akira Kurosawa and directed by Shinji Higuchi
