This is the most touching movie I have ever seen in my life. Kurasawa may have made better technical films but this one is just out of this world. I don't normally cry but I balled like a baby for the last half hour of film. It is beautifully made and the acting is great. Like other reviewers, I thought the ending was a bit ambiguous as well but, unlike brainless movies with totally predictable happy endings, this one, like a true masterpiece, leaves you thinking for weeks after the film.

I saw this movie on an ANA flight in April of 2011 and I have searched all over the world but I still can't find anyone who can tell where I can buy the DVD. I hope it will be released soon so I can watch this again and again.

Those coming to this moving expecting a fast moving swashbuckling tale full of samurai sword fights will be disappointed. Indeed, the one sword fight in this movie could have been cut in half, or cut altogether, and the movie might have been improved for it.

This movie is a wonderful character study, of duty, honour, of the nature of happiness and love and fulfillment.

Deeply moving, poignant, and one of the most amazingly ambiguous endings I can think of ... leaving the viewer with finality yet absolute wondering ... who is happy now, and who is fulfilled?

As I write this, the eyes of the world are on tragedy in Japan. This movie might shed some light for those wondering what culture is it that is dealing with this recent tragedy, and how will they manage it...

The movie centers around two ronin (masterless samurai) 16 years after the they participated in the revenge of their former master. All their comrades who participated in the revenge were put to death, but the two survived to fulfill specific purposes. Terasaka Kichiemon's purpose was to bear witness to what happened during the attack. Seno Magozaemon's purpose is less clear, but as the story unfolds 16 years after the revenge, his purpose is made clear through the help of some flashbacks. It helps to know the story behind "47 Ronin" and it also helps to understand who the girl is, but sufficient information is provided in due time. The movie is beautifully written, shot, and acted. There are very few fight scenes, so this is more of a story about the relationship between happiness/love and honor/duty/obligation for a samurai. I'm not sure what is meant about the ambiguity in one of the other comments. It's clear that Seno Magozaemon cares deeply about the girl. In the version I saw, they did not show the subtitle of what he mouthed to her at the end, but it was basically "Oshiwase ni" ("Be happy").