Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005) is a Japanese action film you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Ten Shimoyama and starring Yukie Nakama and Joe Odagiri.

Japan, 1614. The rival ninja clans of Kouga and Iga have been held in uneasy check by the Tokugawa shogunate — until the shogun decides both clans have outlived their usefulness. His order is simple: each clan sends its five strongest to a death match; the losing side is destroyed. Gennosuke of Kouga and Oboro of Iga have been in love in secret for years. They are chosen as leaders of their respective fives. The person standing across from them at the end may be the one they love most.

The film is based on Futaro Yamada's novel, which also served as the source for the 2005 anime series Basilisk. Shimoyama pitches the material as tragic romance first, martial arts showcase second — the fight sequences are stylised and inventive, but the weight sits in the impossible position the two leads have been put in. Nakama and Odagiri play it with the right restraint for people carrying an unwinnable choice. Stream Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005) online on iFILM.