MUBI

I thought it was very nice how the film ends with the couple enjoying the panoramic scenery after a long hike up the mountain trail. There is a touch of suspense and tension too in that we don’t really know what will happen next when the lord and his followers finally catch up with them on horseback. However, what comes to mind is the old Japanese saying “ame futte ji katamaru” (rain falls and earth hardens) reminding us that adversity builds character and, as such, the rain which has ceased to fall suggests a certain optimism. I also liked the quiet tone of harmony and understatement in the confident mannerism of the samurai couple and the poetic aspect of the heavy rain in that a sense of season is a necessary element for traditional Japanese haikus.