REVIEW: Der Samurai

First-time director and writer Till Kleinert has crafted a compact oddity. Like its virginal protagonist, policeman Jakob, Der Samurai exudes a protean restlessness. From the outset, the film forcefully evades genre description.

Any initial indication of it being a police-procedural thriller evaporates once an allegorical and whimsical kiss chase commences between Jakob and the chief antagonist, a homicidal transvestite. The film’s genre crossing threatens immersion throughout, becoming increasingly frustrating during an epileptic second half.

Traversing forests, remote villages and canal locks, Jakob follows the enigmatic samurai with the intent of capture. Throughout the film, flashbacks and hypothetical flashforwards highlight its key thematic, namely Jakob’s ambiguous sexuality and his symbiotic relationship with an ailing grandmother. Keeping the ‘beast at bay’ becomes the focal motif of Jakob’s journey, and the character of the samurai (imagined or real) taunts Jakob with sexual innuendos and advances while being pursued. This behaviour reinforces the film’s incessant recourse to a latent sexual awakening.

Der Samurai champions sexual abandon: its host, individualistic freedom, serves as a conduit for the overtly public expression of impulse. Order and Burkean prejudice run against exotic desire, resulting in the anarchistic rage of the non-heterosexual, revealed in the blurred edge of an expertly handled Katana. The samurai is Jakob’s homosexual Id. His chase is futile; a snake eating its own tail. However, Jacob eventually ‘exorcises’ his inner demons, although not before the film’s patriarchal figurehead is trussed up and humiliated.

The film’s core strength lies in its workmanlike auteurship. Its visual flair is pronounced, with careful attention to lighting and framing. Many of its most memorable shots, including the viewer’s first encounter with the samurai are dioramic, steeped in a dark fairy tale aesthetic. The film nurtures a dreamy quasi-surrealist vibe, emboldened by the disconnectedness of scenes and set pieces.

Nocturnal scenes are especially notable. Kleinert fuses unnerving atmosphere with the film’s extrinsic, jovial spirit. Der Samurai’s plausibility as a thriller falters the minute subtext foregrounds narrative. Because of this, drama and suspense are sacrificed. The samurai, Pit Bukowski, does inject an element of malice and intrigue though. He’s entirely convincing as the maniacal yet playful cross-dresser, demonstrating an uncanny ability to provoke viewer response via exaggerated facial expressions.

At times Der Samurai feels unfocused considering Kleinert’s determination to say something political about gender and sexuality. The film’s indecision and haste – present in mood and pacing respectively – means it rarely settles on conveying a message, even though it’s clearly sympathetic to the plight of Jakob and his conflicting sexuality.

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