On the beat: The List Surprise Film revealed

Well, The List's Surprise Film was neither Country Strong, Brighton Rock or Conviction or True Grit for that matter, which means another year passes with me being way off the mark with my guestimations. Damn it! One day I'll nail the beast. 

So, what was it you ask? Well Adam Sandler didn't feature. Neither did Aniston or Kutcher. In some respects it was worse. Remember me saying sci-fi films weren't my bag, well there's one other genre that completely fails to tickle my proverbial fancy. Samurai films. Yes, you guessed it! The List's Surprise movie this year was 13 Assassins, the new blood-filled flick by Takashi Miike in UK cinemas 15 April. 

'Surprised the hell out its audience'

Now, I can't say that the List made a 'bad' call this year. The film certainly served its purpose by surprising the hell out of the audience. As the japanese title came on screen, there was a unanimous giggle, and at least four people left five minutes in. I guess samurai subject matter requires such a specific taste that it's difficult to please everyone. And I hear the echo of my own words: 'film festivals are about genre experimentation.' The problem for me was - aside from finding the genre a tad tedious, with the exception of Memoirs of a Geisha - that after a long day of back-to-back films, it just wasn't what I needed. This of course would not have been the case for the rest of the audience (journalists aside). My problem is that samurai films require a certain degree of concentration in terms of context and character. They're so fast-paced and almost always have an ensemble cast with wonderfully difficult names. So by 9.20pm, after four films (two of which were subtitled), I didn't know my Shinzaemons from my Shinroukos. Or my Oguras from my Otakes. 

So, I did that thing that I (almost) never do (well, aside from Autograph at this year's fest, which was just heinously bad). I left 35 mins in. In terms of my 'purpose' at the festival, I'd done my bit at the screening. I'd observed the (diverse) audience and gauged the general reaction to the 'big reveal'. So in that respect I'd done my 'job' as it were. Plus, I'd attended with a friend who had some juicy gossip, so the pub and a glass of vino were a-calling. I then spent all of today feeling guilty about my abandonment. Like I'd not given it a chance. So... I pledge to watch the film in its entirety. When it comes on Sky of course!

So, you win some, you lose some. And my leaving should bear no reflection on the quality of the film. The two main characters (Shinzaemons and Shinroukos) were intriguing and the whole process of recruiting the other 11 assassins was engrossing. And the fact still remains. There is nothing more exciting than the few moments, just after the lights dip, while you wait anxiously to see what lies in store. Unfortunately it was swords, subtitles and lots of gore.