Black Belt (2007)

Movie
German title	Black Belt
Original title	Kuro-obi ( 黒 帯 KURO-OBI )
Country of production	Japan
original language	Japanese
Publishing year	2007
length	95 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Shunichi Nagasaki
script	Jōji Iida
production	Fuyuhiko Nishi Katsuhiro Ogawa Kanjiro Sakura
music	Naoki Sato
camera	Masato Kaneko
cut	Hirohide Abe
occupation
Akihito Yagi : Giryu Tatsuya Naka : Taikan Yuji Suzuki : Choei Kenji Anan Takeshi Bito Arashi Fukasawa : Kenta Hakuryu : Kiichi Tanihara Rei Hanaoka Atsushi Hida Yū Kamio Takayasu Komiya : Ohmoji Tatsuya Mori Atsuko Nakamura Yōsuke Natsuki : Eiken Shibahara Shin'ya Ohwada : Gouda Hidehisa Hideyuki Satō Masahiro Sudo Tarō Suwa : Togo Kimika Yoshino : Chiyo

Black Belt ( Jap. 黒帯KURO-OBI , Kuroobi ) is a Japanese martial arts film directed by Shunichi Nagasaki from the year 2007 .

action

In 1932, the occupying Japanese Empire , the Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo . Meanwhile, in the Dōjō of Sensei Eiken Shibahara in the forests of Kyūshū, three students train enthusiastically karate : The stubborn and aggressive Taikan, Giryu, who tries to live the teachings of Sensei Shibahara of karate as a non-violent way to perfect character and in comparison to Taikan and Giryu less gifted Choei. Their studies are interrupted by a group of the Japanese military police led by Commander Kiichi Tanihara, who would like to take over the dojo as a training facility. Taikan attacks a military policeman and knocks him down. He also wants to attack Tanihara, but is held back by Choei. Choei accidentally touches Tanihara, who then pulls his katana and injures Choei's arm. Taikan challenges Tanihara to a duel in the dojo. For the time being, however, Tanihara can be represented by two subordinates. Only after Taikan has defeated the first and even killed the second does Tanihara engage in a fight. Shibahara demands that the level-headed Giryu fight the commander instead of Taikan, without using any attack techniques. Giryu easily defeats Tanihara, who in turn is fighting with a katana, by means of evasion ( Tai Sabaki ) and defense techniques and injures Tanihara in the hands. Tanihara asks several times to be killed, as defeat is an insult to his honor, but Giryu lets Tanihara live.

Shibahara dies shortly afterwards. Before doing this, he leaves Choei to decide whether Taikan or Giryu should receive the Kuro-obi (black belt). The military police return a little later and demand that Shibahara's students teach the military police. On the way they meet the two children of Tanihara who demand a fight with Giryu. Giryu learns from the military police that Tanihara, wounded by his defeat , had committed seppuku . Although Tanihara's children fight amateurishly, Giryu, who becomes aware of his guilt, lets himself be injured by them and falls down a slope. Taikan shows no emotion and demands to continue the march quickly.

Taikan teaches an aggressive and uncontrolled fighting style in the military police camp. Choei criticizes him for forgetting the teachings of Shibahara.

reception

Many reviews point out that Black Belt is one of the few martial arts films that features authentic karate. The presentation of the historical background is also often viewed positively. The plot is purely fictional and does not show the actual historical development of karate. The relatively simple plot and the quality of the German synchronization are often criticized .

background

Two of the main characters are karate teachers and high dan bearers. Akihito Yagi has the 5th Dan in Gōjū-Ryū Karate (Meibukan) and Tatsuya Naka the 7th Dan in Shōtōkan Karate ( JKA ). Yuji Suzuki is an actor, but also holds the 1st Dan in Shōtōkan Karate (JKA). Various kata are shown in the film, including a. right at the beginning the Kihon -Kata Sanchin and Tenshō of Gōjū-Ryū and Meikyō from the Shōtōkan. The storyline reflects part of the philosophy of karate. The two main characters represent the principles of Yin and Yang of Daoism , which already occur in Bubishi .

Web links

• Black Belt in theInternet Movie Database(English)
• Black Belt atRotten Tomatoes(English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Randy Simpson: Movie Review: Kuro Obi. (No longer available online.) USADojo.com, archived from the original on August 27, 2013 ; accessed on May 20, 2013 (English). 
2. ↑ JKA instructor Tatsuya Naka on the Movie Show “Kuro-Obi”. (No longer available online.) JKA , archived from the original on June 1, 2013 ; accessed on May 13, 2013 . 
3. ↑ Tom Mes: Black Belt. Midnight Eye: Visions of Japanese cinema, August 21, 2007, accessed May 21, 2013 .