Acclaimed director and NYAFF stalwart Kazuya Shiraishi (Twisted Justice and The Blood of Wolves) goes full samurai in Bushido, an epic yet elegiac jidaigeki (his first) that’s both a call to the sword and the hankie. Inspired by a classic rakugo yarn, this isn’t your daddy’s average chambara flick. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (ex-SMAP crooner) is a revelation as Kakunoshin, a down-on-his-luck ronin who’s been kicked to the curb by his clan after being framed for theft. Now he’s scraping by as a seal maker and go master, the samurai code his only compass. But when a loaded merchant (Jun Kunimura) misplaces his gold during a game, the smiles fade and fingers start pointing. Kakunoshin’s daughter (Kaya Kiyohara) has to call in favor from a heart-of-gold brothel madam (Kyoko Koizumi) to keep her father from falling on his sword. But when the ugly truth rears its head and the blades come out, the wronged ronin goes on a one-way trip to revenge central against the scoundrel who wrecked his life (Takumi Saitoh). Shiraishi delivers a masterful slow burn that blazes into a pulse-pounding finale, and a haunting meditation on dignity, deception, and the eternal power of the bro code. Bushido is proof positive that samurai movies will never die.