Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Disgusted by their greed, a U.S. Senator in 2009 publicly suggested that AIG executives commit seppuku, a Japanese ritual suicide that involves disembowelment.

According to Dr. Adam Acar in his article "Seppuku and Harakiri Explained: Facts and Differences," harakiri (or hara-kiri) and seppuku "mean exactly the same thing in Japanese, but, Japanese people almost never use the word harakiri and prefer the word seppuku instead."

So it shouldn't come as a surprise with its title, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is not a feel-good movie. Still, Takashi Miike, the director of 13 Assassins, creates another remake that's a modern classic, and even with the movie's grisly subject matter and dark color palette, the film has exquisite cinematography.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai takes place during a peaceful era in Japan when the samurai had difficulty finding work, and a samurai without a master is reduced to a lower social status as a rōnin.

Even though it's a samurai movie and despite what the trailer shows, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is not an action movie. The film is a study in the caste system, family, honor, and human compassion, and it's on my list of must-see samurai films.

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