Still struggling through Mockingjay. But only 35 pages to go. Story still compelling, but Katniss Everdeen becoming increasingly irritating. 

About a year ago, I watched Masaki Kobayashi's "Human Condition" trilogy. Human Condition is considered to be a 'humanist classic'. It is almost unbearable to watch Tatsuya Nakadai as the idealistic Kaji trying his best to bring out the humanity among his fellow men, only to be ground beneath the boots of nationalistic fervor time and time again.

I went into a depression for several days after which the 3 films almost back to back over a period of 10 days. I wasn't sure that I wanted to watch another movie by Kobayashi, although I had "Kwaidan" on my to-see list.

Then a few weeks ago I heard about a highly acclaimed film with the generic title "Samurai Rebellion", directed by Kobayashi. This would be interesting; how would a pacifist like Kobayashi tackle the 'chambara' or 'sword fight' film genre. It also had Toshiro Mifune in the lead role. Mifune in a samurai film - good enough for me to give it a try!

What an experience! This film is a masterclass in the art of film-making, from a technical standpoint. Kobayashi's approach to lighting, framing & composition, camera positions & tracking shots is stunning. I can't imagine that any film-making class could be complete without a viewing of this film. On top of that, it has a compelling story encompassing feudal politics and moral values.

Samurai Rebellion tells the story of a retired samurai and his young samurai son who must face opposition from their own extended family as they attempt to resist an injustice perpetrated against them by their feudal lord. The extended family believe that as samurai, their duty is to obey orders, no matter what the moral standing of those orders are. This is a common thread that runs through many samurai films and of course, if this samurai code of honor did not exist, then there would be no conflict between moral values and duty, and there would be no stories and movies.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Eventually the father (Toshiro Mifune) and son (the very photogenic Takeshi Kato, who looks like a Japanese version of John Saxon) take on the forces of the feudal lord with both tragic and noble results. The film is primarily a drama, featuring extended conversations between the various protagonists, each one trying to enforce their point of view in this moral war. It is here that the director's use of lighting, framing and tracking shots, brings the drama to life. The story then shifts to action mode in the last act of the film and here it is standard Toshiro Mifune samurai fare. For good measure, we even have a match up between Mifune and his colleague and friend, played by none other than Tatsuya Nakadai. For fans of Japanese samurai films, the sword duels between Mifune and Nakadai became legendary through Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro" films in the early '60s. While Mifune's character won those 2 fights, the result here is slightly different, with both of them mortally wounded. The only survivor at the end of the film is Mifune's little grandchild who is taken by a nanny to safety to another province.

This film won the FIPRESCI (international film critics award) at the Venice film festival in 1967.

I am struggling through "Mockingjay", Book 3 of the Hunger Games series, much as I struggled through Book 2. Now that the novelty of the concept has worn off, the limitations of the writer are becoming more apparent. 
One may argue that I am not the core target audience of teens/ young adults and that is the reason I find it difficult to relate to the main protagonists. But somehow that never came in the way of my enjoying the Harry Potter books, because the characters were so likeable, even with all their flaws. In this case, I feel like slapping Katniss half the time!
Can't wait to finish this book so that I can get started on another young adult novel - "Behemoth", the sequel to "Leviathan". I really liked the 2 lead characters in Leviathan (not irritating at all) and of course, I love the entire steampunk and biopunk world that has been created by Scott Westerfeld.
Speaking of biopunk, I have yet another book waiting in the wings, the highly acclaimed "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi.
And after all of that, I plan to get started on George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones". I have read his scifi work, but was not particularly interested in reading fantasy (after reading Tolkien, nothing else is good enough). But after watching 7 episodes of the HBO series, I have come to realize that the book is more about politics and plot, than fantasy. And it sure is a riveting story.
But first, continue the grind through "Mockingjay".