‘11 Rebels’ Netflix Movie Review - A Serviceable Period Action Film

The Boshin War, or Japanese Civil War, was fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperial Court. Kazuya Shiraishi's 11 Rebels gives this war an undercurrent of sadness. It introduces us to a Suicide Squad consisting of "a bandit who killed his landlord, the arson woman, a survivor of a mass family suicide, the samurai murderer, and to top it off, a pervert monk who abused the daughter of a parishioner." The character who offers this neat one-line description is referred to as a "renowned gambler," and he's also a member of the Suicide Squad. Oh yes, there is also a mass murderer. This group, along with a handful of samurai, is ordered to defend a fortress on the border of the Shibata Domain. Can this small squad defeat the Imperial army? If they emerge victorious, they will be pardoned. This reward provides some members with sufficient inspiration to fight the war. In fact, they are so desperate for pardon that they even consider joining the Imperial army at one point.

But death hangs in the air from the beginning of 11 Rebels. A samurai - who raped Masa's (Takayuki Yamada) wife - is brutally stabbed within the first five minutes. A woman is hanged on a cross and executed by spears. Two characters nearly lose their heads to a saw. But when a member of the suicide squad is killed during the first clash with the Imperial forces, we immediately sense that there is no happy ending for these characters. Also, Natsu (Riho Sayashi) overhears a samurai saying they can kill the "lowlifes" after completing the mission. The samurai in 11 Rebels are not as good or honorable as they often come across in other samurai productions. They rape, they cheat, they look down on people. Somewhere lurking within 11 Rebels is a solid emotional force that Shiraishi fails to bring to the foreground with fervor. This is a film where the so-called happy ending leaves a trace of grief and gloom. Mizoguchi Takumi (Sadawo Abe) wins, but at a great personal cost. The citizens of Shibata celebrate, unaware of the human sacrifices made near their homes.

11 Rebels should have been much, much better. Shiraishi, though, undermines the film's emotional power by surrendering to the demands of a crowd-pleaser. The actors, like marionettes, are manipulated according to the plot, and the lines assigned to them by Junya Ikegami, the writer, are delivered. The characters are left underdeveloped and are merely defined by a sad trait or two so their death can bring tears to the audience. The music, too, arrives on cue to trigger feelings of unhappiness. Before an old man is killed, he reveals he was a spear master. He dies like a hero, all right, but these last words do little to make us root for this character. The movie treats its characters like buttons - their job is to just make us laugh, cry, or motivate us to cheer for them. We, however, don't elicit any of these reactions because there is always a distance between the screen and the audience. Shiraishi is a competent director. Except for that first conflict between the Imperial Army and the Suicide Squad (it's very ugly and dark), everything else in 11 Rebels manages to do its job. However, this success is merely functional. The scenes lack vigor and imagination - they just plainly depict the ongoing event. The conventional images combined with a conventional structure give rise to something serviceable. Most people won't mind 11 Rebels, but it's impossible not to itch for a version of this film that's daring and recognizes its potential - an 11 Rebel that rebels against the strict, narrow rules of a mainstream entertainer.

Final Score- [5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times