- Jan 25, 2009
- 19,765
- 1,428
- Faith
- Oriental Orthodox
- Marital Status
- Private
- Politics
- US-Others
To anyone concerned..
I just saw a film last year called "Seventh Son" and it was very intriguing of a concept.
As said here:
Also, For a quick review:
That said, I was really intrigued with the concept of Witch Hunters and the way others encountered people that weren't automatically horrible simply because they believed differently (and to be clear, I'm not saying I support Wicca, Witches or anything else - including doing violence to others without cause). What I am saying is that violence as a means of addressing what is seen to be wrong is a very intriguing concept when seeing what occurs historically.
I like how another noted it when saying the following:
Something similar happened with the film "Hansel and Gretel" when it came to seeing others fighting against things AND making a craft on hunting others.
And prior to that film, there's also the movie from 2013 on 47 Ronin - where Japanese Samurai seek to avenge their master after he was set up by a rival injustly. The way that they had to face against a witch who helped with the master being killed and yet they were very aware of supernatural forces was very fascinating.
While waiting for the film to come out though, I have heard almost nothing but bad press about it. While there was initial excitement about another film on such a famous and popular story, after other people looked into the new film, their initial thoughts were that of disappointment. I of course did not understand as I had not any full understanding of the original legend.
The film opens with a small tale of a child being discovered with marks upon his head. A local lord takes pity on him while everyone else in his clan believe him to be a demon. The boy strikes a friendship with the local lord’s daughter Mika (Kō Shibasaki) and waits for the day that he can repay them both. Many years later, after being trained in samurai culture but still living as an outcast, the Halfling (as he is called) boy named Kai (Keanu Reeves) saves the life of one of the villagers by taking down a giant beast that was being hunted. Lord Asano (Min Tanaka) uses the creature as an offering for the Shogun who makes a visit later that evening. When the Shogun (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) arrives, Kai spots a woman in the crowd he believes to be a witch. He goes to Lord Asano’s head samurai Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) to tell him this, but Oishi does not take interest believing that Kai must be a demon if he can spot a witch.
The following day a tournament is held in the honour of the shogun. The Shogun’s master of ceremonies, Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) is in attendance and presents his fighter, a giant man all clad in steel to fight Lord Asano’s fighter, who has been bewitched. Kai secretly takes the fighters place until he is discovered. He is forced into taking a beating. That night Lord Kira tells his witch servant Mizuki (Rinko Kikuchi) to possess Lord Asano, this works and Lord Asano, blind to his daughter’s distress attacks a defenceless Lord Kira. Kira survives but is forced by the Shogun to commit Seppuku. His now Master less Samurai become Ronin and are forced to depart from the land and Kai is sold into Slavery. Kira is made head of the land and Mika is forced to marry him in one years’ time. Oishi meanwhile is forced into a pit by Kira.
One year passes and Oishi is finally released from the pit. He heads home and makes plans to get his revenge on Kira. He tells his son Chikara (Jin Akanishi) to go and amass his former warriors and meet him by a river in a few days’ time. Oishi meanwhile travels to a Dutch port to get Kai back. Kai shows great skill in fighting many strange beasts at the pirate port. Oishi enters a fight with him and tells him of what is about to happen. Oishi and Kai manage to escape the port and meet up with the other Ronin. The group split up, Chikara goes to find information from the drunken guards near Kira’s palace. A few others head off to find more men while Oishi and Kai go to get more swords. Their search leads them to going to find the Tengu, a mystical group who hides in the forest, the ones who trained Kai and raised him. Kai and Oishi go in the temple and Oishi’s will is tested as Kai confronts the head of the order and takes his sword. As a reward, his men get the swords they need.
At Kira’s palace, Mika is being prepared for her marriage but gets repeatedly tested by Mizuki and Kira. Kira heads off to a temple to pray as the Ronin plan their attack on Kira. They travel to Kira’s encampment and launch a surprise attack. It proves to be a trick though as Kira is Mizuki in disguise. Thinking that the Ronin are now dead, Kira goes ahead with his wedding. The Ronin manage to survive the encounter but with some loses. The Ronin decide to use their deaths as a surprise and plan a new attack on Kira’s castle. At the cover on nightfall, the Ronin secretly enter the castle and are mostly successful in taking out the perimeter guards, until one of them manages to get a stray shot off. The palace falls into battle. Oishi’s men are successful in taking out the Kira’s fighter and Oishi engages Kira. Kai rescues Mika and manages to kill Mizuki. Oishi meanwhile beheads Kira. The Ronin travel back to their home and surrender to The Shogun. The shogun says though that because they did what any Samurai would do despite disobeying him that they may die with honour by committing Seppuku. They begin the ritual but the Shogun allows Chikara to live and become the new lord of the region. Kai meanwhile says that he will wait in the afterlife for Mika.
While the film may not live up to the original legend, it is my understanding from research that I have done that almost no film on the legend lives up to the original story. What is noticeable though is that the film does follow the original story with elements of fantasy included. The film is therefore adding elements to make the story interesting to other audiences. In my opinion, the only chance of making a thorough adaptation true to the original story, the film would have to be made in Japan. Several have, but in order to please the rest of the world, it would need more of an international release. From a western point of view though, the film is made alongside the original tale but with elements that would appeal to those who request more than just reality, and due to the film’s ancient, mythical setting, there is some allowance at least for the western audience for some elements of mythological beasts.
In terms of the film itself, so not much look upon the legend itself, I find myself comparing it in some respects to films like 13 Assassins and Zulu. Films on an epic scale such as these, it is easy to see the detail that has been put into those films compared to this where it appears to be almost minimal. The characters for instance in traditional Japanese epic’s such as Seven Samurai and 13 Assassins have a great amount of detail into each and every character in the main troupe. Now while of course it would take forever to do the same with the whole company of the 47 Ronin, but as only a few of them appear to have any character at all, it’s a shame we can’t see more of them, not even from the 12 main men in the company. If you were to take a look at this films detail on par with Zulu you can see that Zulu manages to keep large amounts of detail in its characters, though many but allows room for it.
Though while it is very minimal on its characters, 47 Ronin’s main characters are a nice mix. But I do think that this film could have been improved greatly if it was a Japanese Language speaking film as it would look more authentic than them all speaking English, which I think is a definite weakness. Keanu reeves character holds a pivotal point but I think his character is only there to justify the western nature of the film. He is not the only one though as I think that the tattooed guy in the Dutch port, who appears in all the posters, only appears very briefly and I was expecting him to suddenly turn up, but he didn’t.
The main draw in the film’s cast though are in the form of Lord Kira and Oishi. Oishi is a respectable samurai and a respectable samurai who holds up the codes of the samurai as displayed in the film with great authenticity despite not going that much into detail with it. He is very enjoyable throughout the film and you feel a level of safety around him. in many respects, Oishi is the real main focus of the plot, over Keanu Reeves’s Character. Lord Kira though plays the part of a rotter really well. His part is that of a devious and deceitful villain who wants nothing more than power and he is much of a schemer when he does this. This part is excellently played by Tadanobu Asano. Alongside him you also have the brilliant Rinko Kikuchi as the witch Mizuki. As a character she is as rotten as Kira, but this is not a bad thing as that is their part, they are the kind of character whose end you very much look forward too, as is their part.
That said, again, if anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear your own thoughts.
I just saw a film last year called "Seventh Son" and it was very intriguing of a concept.
As said here:
Based on "The Last Apprentice," Joseph Delaney's series of young-adult novels, the picture is set in an unspecified place and time, though the overall look is medieval and Eurasian. Combining elements from folk legend, martial-arts flicks, romances and supernatural thrillers, "Seventh Son" represents a half-baked eclecticism -- an unoriginal world in which mortals wielding steel swords are pitted against sorcerers able to morph into ferocious creatures, both familiar (bears and leopards) and exotic (dragons and monsters).
It resembles a milder cousin of the HBO series "Game of Thrones," minus the Byzantine plot saturated in politics and perversity. It might also function as a light repast for viewers lamenting the end of the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Ring" franchises. ...
Gregory is the sole remaining member of the Falcon Knights, an order of men -- each the seventh son of the seventh son -- dedicated to stamping out a demonic cadre of supernatural assassins led by Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore). At the outset, Gregory is seen imprisoning Malkin in a remote cavern. Eventually she escapes thanks to a lunar phenomenon called the Blood Moon. Returning to the mountaintop aerie from which she commands witches, warlocks, monsters and other creatures of the dark, she plans her revenge.
When she kills Gregory's apprentice Bradley (Kit Harrington), he must find another protege, also a seventh son of a seventh son. In short order he locates Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) tending pigs on his family's farm. Possessing special powers and guided by visions, young Tom is destined to learn from Gregory and vanquish Malkin and her minions.
Malkin sends her niece Alice (Alicia Vikander) to spy on Tom and they fall in love. Secrets are revealed, including one about Tom's mother (Olivia Williams), and after some internecine intrigue and several violent clashes, the stage is set for a sequel.
Although couched in pagan symbols and magic, the movie's worldview does not appear to be in direct conflict with Christianity. The idea that the division between good and evil is not clear-cut -- championed by the younger generation who resist the knee-jerk hostility between mortals and supernatural beings -- is more palatable than the notion that Malkin and her fallen followers behave maliciously primarily because they've been persecuted as outsiders.
It resembles a milder cousin of the HBO series "Game of Thrones," minus the Byzantine plot saturated in politics and perversity. It might also function as a light repast for viewers lamenting the end of the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Ring" franchises. ...
Gregory is the sole remaining member of the Falcon Knights, an order of men -- each the seventh son of the seventh son -- dedicated to stamping out a demonic cadre of supernatural assassins led by Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore). At the outset, Gregory is seen imprisoning Malkin in a remote cavern. Eventually she escapes thanks to a lunar phenomenon called the Blood Moon. Returning to the mountaintop aerie from which she commands witches, warlocks, monsters and other creatures of the dark, she plans her revenge.
When she kills Gregory's apprentice Bradley (Kit Harrington), he must find another protege, also a seventh son of a seventh son. In short order he locates Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) tending pigs on his family's farm. Possessing special powers and guided by visions, young Tom is destined to learn from Gregory and vanquish Malkin and her minions.
Malkin sends her niece Alice (Alicia Vikander) to spy on Tom and they fall in love. Secrets are revealed, including one about Tom's mother (Olivia Williams), and after some internecine intrigue and several violent clashes, the stage is set for a sequel.
Although couched in pagan symbols and magic, the movie's worldview does not appear to be in direct conflict with Christianity. The idea that the division between good and evil is not clear-cut -- championed by the younger generation who resist the knee-jerk hostility between mortals and supernatural beings -- is more palatable than the notion that Malkin and her fallen followers behave maliciously primarily because they've been persecuted as outsiders.
Also, For a quick review:
The film’s plot: The last remaining Spook, a knight named Gregory (Jeff Bridges) who hunts demons and witches for a living, discovers that the most deadly, wicked witch in the land, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), has escaped her prison. Gregory has until the blood red moon waxes full to train a new apprentice, the seventh son of a seventh son named Tom Ward (Ben Barnes), to help him defeat Mother Malkin before the full moon’s power makes her unstoppable. One problem, however: Tom Ward has fallen in love with a half-witch named Alice (Alicia Vikander) who happens to be a spy for Mother Malkin.....In the “Seventh Son” universe, witchcraft is amoral. There are good witches and bad witches, but the practice itself is only evil if the person using it is evil. The knight Gregory, however, sees all witches as bad. He eventually is forced to change his viewpoint (won’t say how or why to avoid major spoilers), which enforces the amoral framing of witchcraft portrayed throughout the film. It’s not unlike The Force in the Star Wars universe, with the Dark Side and the Light. In both cases, there’s an Eastern influence: in the Chinese concept of yin and yang, for example, the universe is composed of light and dark, and though contrary, they’re interdependent and complementary. This interdependence, and its amoral view of good and evil, bears some resemblance to the film. You might even say it is symbolized in the relationship between the protagonist (Gregory) and the antagonist (Mother Malkin).
To be cautious in my language, however, I am not necessarily saying that this film has a fully developed philosophy or worldview to it. It mostly hints at things here and there, and it borrows from both Christian and pagan (i.e. possibly something similar to a Wiccan tone, in this case) terminology at will to create a world where a knight fights to protect the innocent from The Dark — all in vague, general terms. The Dark is categorized by Gregory almost like a zoologist would categorize a species, and, in his book, witches are at the top of the dark and deadly list.
However, within this frame of context, there are clear efforts from Gregory and Tom Ward to fight for the innocent, risk their lives to save others, and show mercy to others, even to their enemies. Likewise, some of the witches show mercy to Gregory and Tom, and one of the witches even fights to save the lives of innocent villagers under attack.
To be cautious in my language, however, I am not necessarily saying that this film has a fully developed philosophy or worldview to it. It mostly hints at things here and there, and it borrows from both Christian and pagan (i.e. possibly something similar to a Wiccan tone, in this case) terminology at will to create a world where a knight fights to protect the innocent from The Dark — all in vague, general terms. The Dark is categorized by Gregory almost like a zoologist would categorize a species, and, in his book, witches are at the top of the dark and deadly list.
However, within this frame of context, there are clear efforts from Gregory and Tom Ward to fight for the innocent, risk their lives to save others, and show mercy to others, even to their enemies. Likewise, some of the witches show mercy to Gregory and Tom, and one of the witches even fights to save the lives of innocent villagers under attack.
That said, I was really intrigued with the concept of Witch Hunters and the way others encountered people that weren't automatically horrible simply because they believed differently (and to be clear, I'm not saying I support Wicca, Witches or anything else - including doing violence to others without cause). What I am saying is that violence as a means of addressing what is seen to be wrong is a very intriguing concept when seeing what occurs historically.
I like how another noted it when saying the following:
What intrigued the producers was how to tell the filmic version of a story about ancient magical forces challenged by the knowledge of Master Gregory and the Falcon Knights who served before him. “The reason that ‘The Spook’s Apprentice’ is so fantastic is that it demythologizes magic,” says producer Basil Iwanyk. “It makes fighting these magical creatures more of a craft or a science than something fantastical. A Falcon Knight is not a wizard; he is a knight/soldier who has to study each creature’s strengths and weaknesses, how they can be killed or harnessed. He has to know not only how to defeat them physically but intellectually. Knights do not use magic; they use science. Master Gregory has a big library of books, filled with knowledge from the past, and each knight writes his own books to pass onto the next generation of knights. They use natural weapons: rowan wood, silver, salts and iron…fighting dark magic with knowledge. That idea dovetailed into the movie because we realized that we wanted it to feel as real as possible.” - See more at: https://pop.inquirer.net/2014/12/fr...h-son-works-its-wonders/#sthash.oJmdrOZo.dpuf
Something similar happened with the film "Hansel and Gretel" when it came to seeing others fighting against things AND making a craft on hunting others.
And prior to that film, there's also the movie from 2013 on 47 Ronin - where Japanese Samurai seek to avenge their master after he was set up by a rival injustly. The way that they had to face against a witch who helped with the master being killed and yet they were very aware of supernatural forces was very fascinating.
That said, again, if anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear your own thoughts.
