One of the movies hitting the big screen this week is a remake of the classic 47 Ronin. While I am not sure how Keanu Reeves ended up starring in a Japanese Historical Epic Chushingura, it looks like a good addition to a true story that has been done as kabuki, bunraku, stage plays, films, novels, and television shows, not once, but many times each. The historical incident at the core of this tale took place in 1700’s Japan, and it is probably the single best known and most often retold story in Nihongo (that’s Japanese to you and me). The other choice this week is also a remake of an old film (get some new ideas, Hollywood!), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which looks like they may have done justice to the James Thurber story. Even though there isn’t anything original out this week, it looks like they have done a world class job on each of them, so I will have to be in the theater for both.
