Unforgiven (2013 film)

Unforgiven (許されざる者, Yurusarezaru Mono) is a 2013 Japanese jidaigeki Western film written and directed by Lee Sang-il.

The plot closely follows the original 1992 film, but shifts the setting to Japan's Hokkaido frontier during the early Meiji period.

Jubei Kamata (Ken Watanabe), a former samurai, is approached by an old associate to help claim the bounty on two men who have disfigured a prostitute.

Years later, in an unnamed frontier town, a pair of brothers, Sanosuke and Unosuke Hotta, beat and disfigure a prostitute while visiting the brothel.

The town's senior lawman, an ex-samurai named Ichizo Oishi, lets the brothers go with only minor chastisement and a fine instead of dispatching them to Sapporo to face justice.

Another bounty hunter, Masaharu Kitaoji, arrives with a young writer who believes him to be an honorable warrior.

After a scuffle in which Goro is unable to shoot the man, he instead stabs him with an Ainu knife, an experience that traumatizes him as he has never actually taken a life before.

He therefore demands that Himeji leave Goro out of the account, ensuring that he alone will carry the blame for killing Oishi and the brothers.

The film holds a "fresh" rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews, with an average score of 6.60/10.