Watch Ichi

Ichi is a 2008 Japanese film that is a riff on the classic Zatoichi series. Like the Zatoichi series, Ichi features a blind protagonist. It is in both the action-drama and historical movie genres. The movie has many violent action sequences and some very emotional scenes as well. It does portray sexual assault, but not in a lurid manner.

This is also a quest movie. The female lead is searching for the man she calls father. He does not appear to be her biological father, but he rescued her as a child. He is blind as well and taught her swordsmanship. When traumatic events happen she goes on a search to find him. She is also a musician, playing the shamisen.

There is a lot of beautiful period costuming and the set design is also appropriate. The fight choreography is more like 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' than 'Fight Club'. It has a very classic feel to it, and harkens back to classic Japanese films of the sixties and seventies while still maintaining modern production quality.