Excellent. Stylised Samurai epic ~~ crisis of end of Tokugawa era crossed with crisis in lives of warriors and tragic resolution. Typically this presents series of images with limited action including shots of flower representing beauty in transience, like human lives ~~ especially those bound by code of honour. May be difficult for non-Japanese to appreciate, but similar to Greek classical tragedy. This is NOT in tradition of "action" samurai movies. The actors are good here, though the relations between characters could be made clearer, story of individuals quite difficult to follow. Not great, but still cathartic.