"Twilight Seibei") is a 2002 Japanese historical drama film co-written and directed by Yoji Yamada and starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa.
Set in mid-19th century Japan, a few years before the Meiji Restoration, it follows the life of Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai employed as a bureaucrat.
[1] The Twilight Samurai won an unprecedented 12 Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.
His samurai colleagues mock him behind his back with the nickname Tasogare (Twilight): when evening approaches, Seibei rushes home to look after his elderly mother, who has dementia, and two young daughters, Kayano and Ito, instead of bonding with his supervisor and other samurai colleagues over customary nights of dinner, geisha entertainment, and sake drinking.
Even though he is a samurai, Seibei neglects his appearance, failing to bathe or shave his head, and being shabbily dressed.
Tomoe is atypical in that she was a tom-boy as a child and as an adult questions points of etiquette, such as obeying her elder brother's wife and not attending peasant festivals.
Recently divorced from an abusive alcoholic husband (Koda, a samurai captain), Tomoe finds comfort and solace with Seibei's daughters.
Koda, after being disarmed and asked if that can be the end of it, picks up his sword so Seibei knocks him unconscious, sparing both their lives.
Upon parting that evening, Seibei's supervisor (who was present during the meeting) promises him that he will make sure the girls will be taken care of if the worst comes to pass.
At Yogo's house, Seibei finds his target drinking alcohol in a dark, fly-infested room.
He explains he was only faithfully serving his master and describes how his wife and daughter also died of tuberculosis due to hardship and spending seven years as a rōnin.
Seibei commiserates and reveals further parallels in the two men's stories, such as that his wife's family demanded she have an expensive funeral and so he sold his katana to pay for it.
This angers Yogo who believes Seibei is mocking him: the short kodachi can be carried even by common people who are not samurai.
Seibei's kodachi fighting style is matched up against Yogo's ittō-ryū (single long sword) swordsmanship in an intense close quarters duel.
"[7] Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave it his highest rating, saying, "Seibei's story is told by director Yoji Yamada in muted tones and colors, beautifully re-creating a feudal village that still retains its architecture, its customs, its ancient values, even as the economy is making its way of life obsolete.
[9] The Twilight Samurai won an unprecedented 12 Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.