Samurai Rebellion

Another genre classic from Masaki Kobayashi, one of the most versatile and skilled post-war Japanese directors. Like the great "Harakiri", "Rebellion" is an anti-samurai film, setting up a complex situation in which the prevailing system is seen as cruel and unconcerned with the sufferings of individuals. Like Renoir, Kobayashi seems to have the rare gift of making films about social injustice without catering to a partisan agenda or de-emphasizing character.

The film is driven by two great performances, Toshiro Mifune as a patriarch and Go Kato as his son. Additionally, there is a brilliantly cathartic showdown at the end between Mifune and the great Tatsuya Nakadai (the star of Harakiri and Human Condition, taking a lesser role here), which is kind of the samurai film equivalent of Marcello Mastroianni and Alain Delon going head-to-head in a battle of masculine cool.
God bless Criterion for putting out so many Japanese films this year.