ZATOICHI (2003). One of the few martial arts films I have enjoyed, involving a master called Zatoichi, who is one of the most popular characters in Japanese culture with hundreds of TV episodes and several films made about him. Played by Takeshi Kitano, he is a blind masseur who intervenes to protect a family being threatened by a local gang. Unlike normal martial arts films, the fights are over in a few seconds, there is a strong sense of humour, and the film ends with a gratuitous but irresistible musical number that might have been composed by Busby Berkley.
Zatoichi
7/10
