Fridae

This is the third part of Yoji Yamada's acclaimed samurai trilogy.

It began with 2002's Twilight Samurai, a rare and affecting portrait of an ageing samurai that swept a record 12 Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture. And it continued with 2004's The Hidden Blade, also a quiet yet powerful depiction of the life of a middle-aged samurai.

The closing chapter of his trilogy is another sublime and minimalist drama. Takuya Kimura plays a low-ranking samurai who is in charge of tasting the food of his clan's lord. One day, he is poisoned by bad shellfish and goes blind. As his career prospects and his marriage falls apart, the young samurai goes off the deep end.

Yoji Yamada's samurai films are an acquired taste. They are slow and gentle meditations on the sadness of life and they are guaranteed to put young LGBT viewers to sleep. But for those who have lived a little and have a better understanding of the human condition, Yamada's quiet films speak volumes.