Set at the beginning of Japan's modern era (1860) this story deals with the travails of a samurai who is caught up in the machinations of his klan and is forced into a duel with his old friend. Meanwhile he loves his family's servant girl but caste strictures forbid this match.
The film successfully humanized the medieval warrior class and showed that corrupt officials thrive everywhere there is a disparity of power. One minor flaw was the clumsy slapstick used when the retainers were learning western methods of war. But once they got it the foundation for Japan's crazed 20th century militarism was firmly in place.
The film worked as sociology and as a personal story.
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