Goemon (film)

Goemon (五右衛門, Goemon) is a 2009 Japanese historical fantasy film written and directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. It is loosely based on the story of Ishikawa Goemon, a legendary outlaw hero who stole valuables from the rich and gave them to the poor. The film is a fictional account of Goemon's exploits and his role during the final phase of Sengoku period, particularly the period leading up to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. Like Kiriya's previous film, Casshern, Goemon was filmed on a digital backlot, and made use of over 2,500 visual effects.

Goemon
Original Japanese release poster
Directed byKazuaki Kiriya
Written byKazuaki Kiriya
Tetsurô Takita
Produced byKazuaki Kiriya
Takashige Ichise
StarringYōsuke Eguchi
Takao Osawa
Ryōko Hirosue
CinematographyKazuaki Kiriya
Edited byKazuaki Kiriya
Chisako Yokoyama
Music byAkihiko Matsumoto
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • May 1, 2009 (2009-05-01) (Japan)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget$9 million
Box office$14,455,019[1]

Goemon was released in North America on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Funimation on April 19, 2011, and features an English dubbed audio track.

Plot

In the middle of the Sengoku period, young Ishikawa Goemon watches his entire family assassinated for political reasons, but he is saved by the warlord Oda Nobunaga. Goemon follows Nobunaga to his castle where the ninja Hattori Hanzō trains him along with Kirigakure Saizō. Goemon is assigned to protect Nobunaga's niece, Chacha. Nobunaga gives him his double-bladed sword as reward for protecting his niece. Meanwhile, Nobunaga's generals Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide conspire to kill him. After assassinating Nobunaga, Hideyoshi kills Mitsuhide, taking credit for slaying Nobunaga's killer, and becomes the new ruler of Japan. Goemon and Saizo part ways: Saizo chooses to remain in service to the Oda clan while Goemon chooses to leave. As a parting gift, Goemon divides his double-bladed sword in two and gives one-half to Saizo.

Years later, Goemon becomes an outlaw. During a festival, Goemon robs a treasure repository that houses a mysterious foreign box. Unaware of the value of the box, Goemon throws it away, but a young pick-pocket named Koheita picks it up. The following day, Goemon learns of the box's value and returns to the city to find it. Goemon finds Koheita and his mother, who has just been murdered by local samurai. Goemon saves Koheita and retrieves the box.

Saizo and his ninja squad appear and confronts Goemon. Goemon flees but is chased by Saizo's team. Saizo challenges him to a duel. Saizo informs him that the box is referred to as a "Pandora's Box" by foreigners. Just as Saizo prepares to kill Goemon, Hattori Hanzo intervenes, causing Saizo to withdraw. After returning to the city, Goemon examines the "empty box" and discovers a map leading to a mysterious treasure. Following the map, Goemon and Sasuke are led to the destroyed Buddhist temple where Akechi Mitsuhide had hidden a contract with Hideyoshi. Goemon becomes angry once he learns of Hideyoshi's involvement in Nobunaga's death. Hanzo reappears and offers his old student a bag of gold for the contract, which Goemon accepts. Seeking vengeance for his murdered lord, Goemon infiltrates Hideyoshi's palace and kills Hideyoshi's fake double. One of Hideyoshi's guards discovers Goemon and shoots him. Goemon is rescued by Saizo.

Hanzo takes Goemon to a waterfall to meet with Chacha. Chacha reveals she has agreed to become Hideyoshi's concubine. Later, Tokugawa arrives and asks Goemon to assassinate Hideyoshi in order to save the country. Meanwhile, Mitsunari offers Saizo samurai status in return for killing Hideyoshi. During Hideyoshi and Chacha's wedding aboard a royal ship, Goemon prepares to kill him but changes his mind. Moments later, all of Hideyoshi's escort ships are destroyed by explosives set by Saizo and his team. Believing Hideyoshi to be dead, Mitsunari turns on Saizo and shoots him. However, Hideyoshi and Saizo survive. Hideyoshi, unaware of Mitsunari's betrayal, interrogates Saizo. Soon after, Goemon saves Saizo.

Saizo discovers that Mitsunari has kidnapped his infant child and killed his wife in reprisal. Saizo is recaptured and Hideyoshi condemns him to death by boiling. Goemon tries in vain to stop the execution, but Hideyoshi kicks Saizo into the cauldron along with his child. With the help of Saizo's team, Goemon storms through the palace. Goemon discovers that Hideyoshi murdered Nobunaga, provoking Goemon to finally kill him. He rescues Chacha, finally reuniting with her. With Hideyoshi dead, a power struggle between Tokugawa and Mitsunari begins. Goemon decides to intervene.

Goemon charges into the battle wearing Nobunaga's armor and carrying his fully repaired double-bladed sword. His appearance instills fear in the warring armies as they believe Nobunaga has returned. Goemon fights through the armies until he reaches and kills Mitsunari. Mitsunari's army retreats in fear. Goemon then charges through Tokugawa's army, but Hattori Hanzo intercepts him mid-way. Goemon immobilizes Hanzo by pinning his foot to the ground with a broken sword blade, allowing him to approach Tokugawa. As Goemon closes in to kill Tokugawa, he is mortally wounded by Sasuke, Goemon staggers and reveals that he is only holding Chacha's fan. Tokugawa agrees to peace, and Goemon leaves the battlefield. Goemon struggles to make his way back to Chacha, but he dies of his wounds while watching the fireflies.

Cast
Character Japan Japanese actor United States English dubbing
Ishikawa Goemon Yōsuke Eguchi Travis Willingham
Young Goemon Tokimasa Tanabe unknown
Kirigakure Saizō Takao Osawa Troy Baker
Young Saizō Takeru Satoh unknown
Chacha Ryōko Hirosue unknown
Young Chacha Mayuko Fukuda unknown
Sarutobi Sasuke Gori Todd Haberkorn
Toyotomi Hideyoshi Eiji Okuda Christopher Sabat
Akechi Mitsuhide Kazuaki Kiriya unknown
Ishida Mitsunari Jun Kaname unknown
Tokugawa Ieyasu Masatō Ibu Kent Williams
Oda Nobunaga Hashinosuké Nakamura unknown
Hattori Hanzō Susumu Terajima unknown
Rikyū Sen Mikijirō Hira unknown
Matahachi Tetsuji Tamayama unknown
Gao Choi Hong-man unknown
Yugiri Erika Toda unknown

English dubbing staff

Reception

The film was nominated at the Asian Film Awards in 2010 for the categories of Best Costume Designer (Vaughan Alexander and Tina Kalivas) and Best Visual Effects (Takuya Fujita and Kôji Nozaki).

According to Twitch Film, "Goemon is going to be a divisive film ... It fits in well with their live action catalog of films like Shinobi: Heart Under Blade and yet it feels like a live action anime."[2] According to a DVD Verdict review by Paul Pritchard, Goemon "entertains with its combination of imaginative visuals and exciting action sequences, but leaves you wanting for more".[3] The Blu-ray Disc version was "highly recommended" by Blu-ray.com.[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Goemon, composed by Akihiko Matsumoto, was released in Japan on April 22, 2009, by Columbia Music Entertainment. The film's theme song, "Rosa -Movie Mix-", composed by Yoshiki and performed by Violet UK, was released on iTunes seven days later on April 29, 2009.[5][6]

References
  1. "Goemon (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  2. "Reviews: Blu-ray Review: GOEMON". Archived from the original on 24 April 2011.
  3. Pritchard, Paul (2011-04-22). "DVD Verdict Review – Goemon". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2011-05-15.
  4. "Goemon Blu-ray". Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  5. "『GOEMON』映画会場で先着5万人にVIOLET UKの「ROSA」プレゼント". BARKS (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  6. "YOSHIKIが親友、紀里谷監督の「GOEMON」に主題歌を提供 : 映画ニュース". 映画.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
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