Samaritan Zatoichi (1968)

The 19th film in the series reminds us that while Ichi often goes up against them in combat, he is himself a yakuza; it’s something that he’s confessed many times in the past but that we've rarely seen evidence of. When he takes payment for a deed his code of honour demands that he carry it out.
His insistence that “sometimes it pays to be blind” rings true, although even in the darkest areas his conscience sees every movement he makes.
The comedy is less subtle than is normally the case. Either the script was written that way or Kenji Misumi shot it that way, I don’t know, but it’s an odd fit with the depth of tragedy that everything else hinges on.

3 deft cuts out of 5