47 Ronin(2013)

Plot Summary

• Ronin is a Samurai who has failed to uphold his mission. A disgraced being with no place in Japanese society. In late medieval Japan, Kai (Keanu Reeves) is a half-Japanese, half-British outcast who lives in the domain of Ako, ruled by the benevolent Lord Asano Naganori, who found a young Kai lost in the forest and accepted him into his household. Many believed that Kai was raised by the Tengu, daemons of the forest, who taught Kai their fighting ways and mysteries. In time Kai grows up to be an expert tracker of animals in the forest. Despite being scorned by the samurai due to his lowborn status and mixed ancestry, Kai falls in love with Asano's daughter, Mika.Before a visit from Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Lord Asano is visited by the Shogun's master of ceremonies, Lord Kira, who becomes attracted to Mika. He arranges a duel for the entertainment of the Shogun between his best warrior, the Lovecraftian Samurai, and one chosen by Oishi, principal counselor to Lord Asano. Ako's champion, Yasuno, is found by Kai to be incapacitated before the duel by the sorceress Mizuki, working for Lord Kira. Mizuki has the power to don the shape of any animal she wishes & uses this ability to spy on Asano's men & domain. Kira is also the head of a province rivaling Ako's & wants to take over Ako's lands. Kai recognizes Mizuki to be a witch, & reports the same to Oishi, who simply dismisses him & does not take him seriously.Kai secretly dons Yasuno's armor and fights the Lovecraftian Samurai, but his disguise is broken, and he is sentenced to punishment. The Sholgun had ordered Kai to be killed, but only relents when Mika intervenes & begs for pardon for Kai. Later that night, Mizuki bewitches Asano into believing Kira is sexually assaulting Mika, causing Asano to attack an unarmed Kira in delirium.While the offense for attacking a Shogunate official is execution, the Shogun allows Asano to die with honor through Seppuku, grants the domain of Ako to Lord Kira, and brands Oishi and his men Ronin. Kira demands Mika's hand in marriage on the spot, but the Shogun grants her one year to mourn the death of her father and forbids the Ronin of Ako from seeking vengeance. To ensure there is no interference, Kira imprisons Oishi in an outdoor pit to break his spirit.Nearly a year later Oishi is released by Lord Kira's men. He reunites with his family and asks his son Chikara to aid him in reuniting the Ronin-including Kai, who has been sold into slavery. Oishi finds Kai in the fighting pits of the Dutch colony of Dejima. In search for swords to arm themselves, Kai leads them to the Tengu Forest, a mystical place he escaped from as a child. Kai instructs Oishi to never draw his sword while in the Tengu temple and continues alone to another room to face the Tengu Master, who once trained Kai in the fighting ways of the Tengu.While Kai fights the Tengu Master in a battle of wills, Oishi watches his men being slaughtered by the Tengu. Oishi follows Kai's advice to never draw his sword and the illusion vanishes when Kai is victorious in his duel, the Ronin are given Tengu swords. Armed with their new weapons, the Ronin plan to attack Kira on his pilgrimage to a shrine as he seeks blessings for his wedding to Mika. The procession is a trap, and the group is ambushed by Kira's forces led by Mizuki and the Lovecraftian Samurai. Several of the Ronin are killed, and Mizuki, believing to have slaughtered them all, takes Oishi's sword and presents it to Lord Kira as a trophy. Mizuki later taunts Mika with their deaths and attempts to manipulate Mika into despair and suicide.Having survived the attack, Oishi and Kai rally the remaining survivors. With help of a band of traveling performers loyal to the memory of Lord Asano, Kai and Oishi infiltrate Kira and Mika's wedding ceremony, giving Mika an opportunity to flee as the Ronin scale the walls and attack Kira's men. As the Ronin are fighting for their lives, the Lovecraftian Samurai is destroyed by a gunpowder explosion, and the battle turns against Kira's men. Kai and Mika attempt to escape together, but are attacked by Mizuki, who takes the form of a dragon. Kai draws on the mystical powers of the Tengu he possesses and ends her life. Oishi emerges with Kira's severed head, and Kira's men surrender.Surrendering themselves to Shogunate authority, the Ronin are sentenced to death as they explicitly violated the Shogun's command to not seek revenge. However, the Shogun finds that they followed the principles of Bushido in their actions, restoring their honor as samurai. Instead of being executed as criminals, the Ronin are commanded to perform Seppuku, dying with their honor restored, and are given the additional honor of burial with their master. As the Ronin prepare for Seppuku, the Shogun pardons Oishi's son from death, so as to preserve such a noble bloodline for the country; the rest stoically take their own lives.

Storyline

• While hunting in the forest, Lord Asano of Ako and his samurai find a young half-breed and take him with them to live in the castle. Several years later, Lord Asano holds a tournament to welcome the Shogun to Ako. The night after the tournament, Lord Asano is bewitched into hurting Lord Kira of Nagato, and is punished into committing seppuku by the Shogun. Realizing that it was a Lord Kira's evil plot, the samurais and the half-breed sets out for revenge against the Shogun's order. — Immanuel A. In Ako, Lord Asano and his samurai Ôishi are hunting in the forest and they find a half-breed boy. Lord Asano brings him to Ako and the boy that is named Kai is raised with his daughter Mika. Years later, Mika and Kai are secretly in love with each other. Lord Asano welcomes the Shogun Tsunayoshi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and the Lord Kira at home. However, Kira's Witch casts a spell on Lord Asano and he tries to kill Kira. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to death and offers the option of committing Harakiri to die with honor. Ôishi and his samurais become ronin and he is arrested in a hole; and Kai is sold as a slave in another village. One year later, Ôishi is released from the imprisonment and he plots a scheme to revenge Lord Asano with Kai and the other ronin. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil In ancient Japan, a small kid named Kai is found in a ditch in the woods. As a man living in the kingdom of Ako, he enters a tournament when the original fighter is blinded. His chances for success fail when he is knocked down, and he is banished from Ako. Now, he teams up with 46 other banished ronin in order to not only save Ako, but also Kai's girlfriend, Mika, from a tyrant and his spy. Rescued from certain death by the compassionate ruler, Lord Asano, the unprotected young outcast, Kai, grows up alongside with his benefactor's beloved daughter, Mika, in eighteenth-century Japan. Having sworn eternal devotion to his benevolent protector, Kai's world will turn upside down when a seemingly innocent visit by the supreme monarch, Shogun Tsunayoshi, and the leader of the neighbouring province, Lord Kira, leads to a shameful act of treason, and Lord Asano's dishonourable death. Now, Asano's loyal men, his high-ranking samurai, Oishi, and Kai are rendered ronin--or masterless samurai--forever banished into the unforgiving wilderness, leaving Mika in the clutches of her father's arch-rival, Kira. However, there's a Tengu-raised fighter in their midst who craves justice. Will the 47 Ronin save Mika and clear their disgraced commander's name? — Nick Riganas