Azumi (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #89

For this place in my list I'm combining the films "Azumi" (2003) and "Azumi 2" (2005) into one film. I believe that it's justified. Despite being made two years apart, they tell a single story. At the beginning of the first film Azumi is sent on a mission to kill three warlords. She kills two of them, and she faces the third warlord in the second film. The second film shouldn't be called "Azumi 2", as if it were a sequel. More correctly, it should be called "Azumi Part 2".

The film is based on a Japanese comic book series that ran from 1994 to 2014 and begins with the events of the first issue. As a small child, Azumi's mother dies, leaving her homeless. Azumi is adopted by a man who's training warriors to bring peace to Japan. He wants to put an end to war, which he thinks he can do by assassinating warlords. Azumi is one of 10 children that he's adopted, all approximately the same age. Their training is complete after 10 years. In the comic their training is completed when they're 12 to 13 years old, but in the film they're closer to 15, based on the ages of the actors playing them. The ruthless master prunes the assassins by putting them in pairs and telling them to fight to the death. The five who remain are the worthy assassins.

Azumi and her four friends are sent out to kill the three warlords who are planning a new war. One by one the assassins are killed in battle, until Azumi stands alone against seemingly unsurmountable odds. In the final scene she has to face an army of 200 soldiers, but she doesn't hesitate, swinging her sword through them. Interestingly, she doesn't have any ability in hand to hand fighting. She's only able to battle with her sword.

This is an amazing film with non-stop battles. There's a lot of soul-searching, because Azumi is constantly plagued by doubts that her mission is futile. Can war ever be ended? As soon as one warlord is killed, another rises up and vows revenge. Added to that, the warlords may have noble intentions, intending to end war by putting themselves in control.

It's a shame that no more films were made in the series. It's time for a reboot.