A Boy and His Samurai is such a disarmingly sweet film that it actually serves a higher purpose than most movies do. You see, A Boy and His Samurai is actually a robot detector. If you watch the film and do not leave with a smile on your face, you are secretly a cybernetic spy sent back through time by Skynet to destroy the future human revolution. Theaters that screen A Boy and His Samurai will have armed guards present at each presentation of the film, prepared to shoot any attendees that don’t leave the film absolutely enraptured with the story. Because there is no such thing as Skynet robot emissaries (yet), they will not require many bullets.
A Boy and His Samurai is a film cut from the same cloth as The Iron Giant and despite many parts of the film that are significantly tied to the Japanese culture, the movie is completely accessible by mainstream audiences.
Ryo Nishikido stars as Kijima Yasube, a samurai who finds himself sent 180 years into the future to present-day Japan. Trapped in a world he knows nothing about, Yasube latches onto the kindness of a divorcee named Hiroko (Rie Tomosaka) and her son Tomoya (Fuku Suzuki). Together, the three form a family — with Yasube helping to alleviate some of the stress from the single mother by helping Hiroko with the domestic chores and caring for her adorably cute son. It is in performing his domestic duties where Yasube finally finds his true calling — baking deserts. By applying the same principals and dedication reserved for his samurai training, Yasube is able to master the art of creating delicious deserts.
The film follows a very direct and precise story. Because of the fairy tale like quality to A Boy and His Samurai, the film feels like a tale we’re all familiar with — despite the film actually managing to be significantly original in its specific melding of fantasy and family drama.
As the three bond, the audience is oh, so kindly bashed over the head with a surplus of sweetness. The movie has an unrelenting positivity about it without being overly sugary or emotionally manipulative. The film is just a bundle of genuinely funny scenes, low-key but poignant fantasy and — most importantly — likable characters.
This unassuming genuineness of the film’s characters helps to keep the film grounded in reality — a mission for a film that lets its fantastical elements take a backseat to the film’s tender focus on the family dynamics between the samurai and his new friends. Even as the film builds towards the unavoidable moment where the samurai must say goodbye to his surrogate family, A Boy and His Samurai retains a feel-good tone that keeps the film afloat in positivity.
Director Yoshihiro Nakamura has had several films play at Fantastic Fest to critical acclaim — yet none have been formally released in the U.S. as of yet. Let’s hope that streak breaks with A Boy and His Samurai because this is a movie that deserves to be seen by as many as possible.
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Notable Cast: Shiori Kutsuna, Ryô Nishikido and Hitomi Satô
Writer: Yoshihiro Nakamura from the novel by Gen Araki
