Azumi (4½ Stars)

This is a film based on a long running Japanese comic book, which unfortunately I've never read. When it was released in 2003 it was the most successful film of the year in Japanese cinemas. While being typical to the genre of "one warrior defeats 100 armed opponents", now well known to Western audiences from watching "Kill Bill", it still maintains a level of realism.

Azumi, played by the beautiful 17-year-old actress Aya Ueto, is an orphan who has been brought up by a rogue Japanese warrior, a Ronin, who has taken a vow to bring peace to Japan. To do this he is training a group of assassins who will kill any warlords who intend to begin a war. Killing one person to save many lives is a noble pursuit, but as the film shows there are always others who get killed while trying to protect the one. Azumi is the most skilled of the group of five assassins. The final scene in which she single-handedly takes on a whole village is breathtaking. This is the best Japanese sword fighting film I've seen.