Takeshi Kitano is back in town, this time with a historical film. An encounter with the legendary director is enough to make Zatochi worth watching. Takeshi Kitano made his way into Japanese film history, etching himself into it. Now, he takes on history himself, with the most traditional and conservative genre in Japanese cinema. In the 19th century, Zatoichi arrives in a town in Japan. There, he encounters a lawyer employed by a crime organization and also meets a brother and sister seeking the killer of their family. Zatoichi ends up in a showdown with the organization that takes over the town. Zatoichi is a legendary blind samurai, and one of the most famous characters in Japanese history. Zatoichi′s charisma, played by Shintaro Katsu, is truly amazing. Like his previous film Dolls, Zatoichi must have been a difficult experiment for Takeshi Kitano. But the director tells the story in his own manner, and like Zatoichi, with only a sword, survives the world that he cannot see. Other characters including a swordsman performed by Tadanobu Asano are nicely cast, as well. The fast movements of the sword fights, timely set comic happenings and unexpected tap dancing are magically interconnected to give birth to a new Kitano style of historical film, in which art and entertainment can coexist. Takeshi Kitano′s Zatoichi is indeed an unprecedented and unique historical film.