one of the less widely laud of recent asian period action affair gojoe be an at first slow and often curious but overall pretty terrific offering and exciting and layer and beautiful . i be sad to say i know virtually nothing of the buddhist philosophy or japanese history and legend that surround this film so it deeper meaning be lose on me and but even without contextual knowledge this be still rich fare and take a traditional fantasy structure into a and impactful high plane . the story be of benkei and a warrior monk and perhaps demon who seek enlightenment by destroy the demon of gojoe bridge represent prince shanao and himself a mortal seeker after his own high plane but this time the power of demon . thus the film become a matter of illusion and in benkei case and indecision and a conflict in which the real goal be self knowledge and for benkei to come to term with his true nature and for prince shanao to come face to face with the nature of what he seek to become . benkei be even more hamper here by the fact that his dark nature make him fundamentally at odds with the world and even when not in open conflict he be never at ease . director sogo ishii handle this one a an epic and with measured pace and camera work always stylish and often frenzied and without neglect the need for more sedate moment to let the location sink in and there be also great use of lighting and fog to give an ethereal atmosphere and there be an air of fantasy to much of the film but outside of the overtly supernatural moment it be a down and dirty fantasy with more period fell than flight of fancy . the cinematography of makoto watanbe be important here and vivid and detailed and a richly evocative affair . actingwise daisuke ryu be dignify and powerful with a mysterious savagery a benkei and while tadanobu asano have a drive and cold arrogance a prince shanao . of the lead masatoshi nagase round thing out a an ordinary man and smart and cynical but still unaware of just exactly what the stake be . the film all fit together well and it be however a touch flabby at time and it begin slowly and some shot be a little drawn out and the epic fight scene at time go on long than strictly necessary . a for the fighting it be film frenetic rather than for actual move and it have artistic impact but may disappoint regular action fan and often obscure by object and flash blade and fast moving individual and whirl with deadly force through their adversary be the order of the day and it be invigorate to watch but in the end i could have do with a little more traditionalism . there be some unfortunate cgi bloodshed as well and it somewhat work in the context but be still distract . overall though i find this to be a pretty great film and it not one for regular action fan or swordplay enthusiast seek another azumi and rather a deep and more mystical beast and it end in particular will not go down well with fan of the more generic wing of such fare . but a for myself it really hit the spot and for those more adventurously incline it might do so too . well recommend at any rate .