Inemuri Iwane is a beautifully shot, entertaining samurai movie.

 

Inemuri Iwane also known as Iwane: Sword of Serenity, was directed by Katsuhide Motoki and was based on the samurai period novels "Inemuri Iwane Edo Zoshi" written by Saeki Yasuhide and published between 2002 and 2016. Katsuhide Motoki was no stranger to the samurai genre of movies as he had previously directed 2 samurai comedies in the Chokosku! Sankin kotai/Samurai Hustle series. A major factor in why I chose to watch Inemuri Iwane was the fact that Tori Matsuzaka portrayed the main role and Kimura Fumino was portraying Okon. I had high hopes for the movie, did it live up to them? Let's find out! 

Inemuri Iwane follows the story of the titular character Iwane Sakazaki. A swordsmanship student studying at a dojo in Edo, Iwane studies the way of the sowrd alongside 2 of his childhood friends, Kinpei Kobayashi and Shinnosuke Kawade. The 3 are as close as brothers and in fact are due to become family in short order as Iwane is due to marry Kinpei's younger sister, Nao. Not only that, but Shinnosuke is married to Nao's elder sister, Mai. Unfortunately, things take a tragic tale when Shinnosuke is told of a rumour circulating around the city that his wife, Mai is cheating on him. In a hasty decision made without gaining the full picture and the truth, Shinnosuke kills Mai in cold blood. Kinpei, angered by this, in turn kills both Shinnosuke and his uncle. The clan in which all 3 friends served orders the execution of Kinpei and his death falls upon the hands of Iwane. 

Narratively, Inemuri Iwane is a tragedy. The lives of the 3 childhood friends and Nao all fall apart due to a rumour. The rumour that was told to Shinnosuke by his uncle is proven to be untrue only after the damage has been done and Shinnosuke has killed Mai. That rumour had the knock-on domino effect of Kinpei avenging his sister and Iwane being forced to execute Kinpei in a duel which he doesn't want. It also leads to Nao and the rest of Kinpei's family being exiled from the samurai clan in which Kinpei and his friends had served whilst Iwane effectively quits due to the trauma of having to kill his childhood friend. He ended up taking any job he could in order to keep afloat.

Katsuhide Motoki is a talented director and his direction for Inemuri Iwane showcased his talent. He brought the best performances out of the talented cast and managed to slip a lot into a busy narrative without the movie losing focus. The first half of the movie is a pure samurai flick focusing on the tragic end to the trio's friendship whilst the second half brings in the financial element with the currency struggles. It would have been easy for it to fall flat and fail due to editing and pacing issues, but Motoki somehow managed to pull it off. 

One of my favourites aspects of the movie is the cinematography. The majority of the shots are static in nature, but this helps to emphasise the dialogue and with the orange hues used in the lighting, the movie has a vibrant aesthetic. The orange is replaced with browns in the second half to highlight the despair of Iwane's plight. Slow moving shots are used to tremendous effects, having been used in the most important scenes and highlighting the dramatic dialogue and speeches made. My favourite shot came in the first half of the movie in a scene that featured Iwane and Nao. The pair are standing on the edge of a cliff as the camera pans around to reveal the gorgeous blue sky and sea in the background whilst keeping the flowers the pair are speaking of in the foreground. 

For the most part, the choreography for the sword fights is pretty good. They are shot rather well with every movement and technique being framed quite clearly and the action is easy to follow. The only criticism I have of them is the overuse of the static bind. To be fair, the static bind is a commonly used technique in sword fighting movies and is usually done to focus on the reactions of the fighters or for some mid fight dialogue such as taunts.

Tori Matsuzaka is excellent in the lead role of Iwane Sakazaki. His mature performance makes him the embodiment of a traumatised former samurai and the costumes really suited him. I also enjoyed his chemistry with Fumino Kimura as Okon, I thought that their scenes really elevated the movie and stood out. 

Fumino Kimura was great in the role of Okon. She really nailed the role and I enjoyed every moment she was on screen and not just because she's a pretty woman! Her budding friendship with Iwane was one of my favourite parts of the movie and I felt for her as her feelings were never going to be reciprocated and she knew. She was a strong female character done right. 

Overall, I rather enjoyed Inemuri Iwane. It made great use of its' 3 hour runtime and kept me engaged the whole way through. The only times it slowed down were to progress the narrative with necessary scenes. I'd heartily recommend it to those who enjoy samurai movies and those who are dissuaded by tragedies.