Saw Samurai Wolf, the most "Western"-ish samurai film I've seen in a while. Westerns often steal from Japan but this one involved sheriffs, bandits, and hookers (with hearts of gold.) There's very little translation required in this case. So, it follows the titular samurai wolf as he wanders into a town which is (naturally) bedeviled by bandits. The samurai is a fairly easygoing dude who carries no money and cheerfully exchanges a few hour's wood-chopping for some food. He's constantly trimming his beard with some little sheers which I think is meant to hint at a tamed and civilized wolf. There's something of the beautiful beast about our hero. He is very physical and has that magical ability to stab flies mid-flight and instinctively parry an unexpected thrust.
I've suggested in previous reviews that the attitude towards authority was interesting in samurai films. Those concerns are kind of orthogonal to this film's attitude. This small town is instantly cowed by the samurai and he becomes the de facto lawmaker. The film was interesting - almost solid action. There are a few scenes where people lay out the plot but they are few and brief. The film knows what its audience wants.
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