THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI (Tasogare Seibei) is a movie co-written and directed by Yoji Yamada in 2002. This film earned 12 Japanese Academy Awards in 2003.
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Seibei Iguchi is a poor samurai who, after the premature death of his wife, must take care all by himself of his two daughters and his senile mother. Seibei works as a clerk in the local fort, cultivates his land and makes wicker baskets at night. He doesn't have time or money to spend his evenings drinking with his colleagues in town and is nicknamed "twilight" because he comes back home every day at the same hour.
Tomoe is a young woman, just divorced, who was a close friend of Seibei when young. She starts to come regularly to Seibei's home in order to take care of his family when he is at work. Seibei would like to marry her but decides not to because he believes that she couldn't get used to his mediocre life after having been married to a wealthy samurai.
As the local governor prematurely dies, there is a political struggle for the succession and Seibei is asked by his clan chief to duel with the chief of the Guards who refuses to hara-kiri. Still a samurai, Seibei who hasn't trained for years must nevertheless obey the order.
The review of this Movie prepared by Daniel Staebler