THE CHALLENGE

Rick, a simple American boxer, has to hand an old katana, a heritage piece, to his rightful Japanese owner. He ends up in a battle for the sabre between two brothers. The first is a sensei of the traditional fence academy in the countryside; the other is a rich, criminal entrepreneur. He will be initiated in the way of the samurai and pick up the weapons. This is staggeringly realistic for a gaijin film. The legendary figure of the chanbara (Seven Samurai, The Legend of Musashi, The Sword of Doom...), Toshirô Mifune, takes him under his care, as an old but efficient sensei. "The Challenge" never lowers itself to ridiculous clichés, but ties into medieval Japanese combat art. The American hero may be the only authentic gaijin samurai of this programme – together with Rauni, of course.