The Monk and the Samurai is a short film written, directed, and produced by Troy A. Sanford. This short film employs a plethora of interesting narrative and filming styles to tell its story, and decidedly reflects Sanford’s love of samurai cinema and martial arts.

The Monk and the Samurai tells the story of a man who gained the love of his life and eventually a son, but one day had his dreams crushed when his wife was killed by evil men. While the father grew his heart and spirit to become a monk, the son channeled his anger into a fierce love of war. People flocked to the father’s temple for healing and guidance, and demons fled from the son’s sword — all of Japan was grateful to both men’s accomplishments.

The film is labeled as “volume 1”; The Monk and the Samurai appears to either be the first in a series of planned chapters, or, the film is paying homage to the samurai films that have multiple volumes. In any case, this short film packs emotion, existentialism, and a distinct style into a 10-minute story worthy of a series. In fact, The Monk and the Samurai felt a bit like watching an episode of an anime, due to its use of animation and voice-over narration.

Narrated by John M. Shang, The Monk and the Samurai is written like an epic poem, line after line of rhyme telling the adventure of this very different father and son. The film seemed to employ rotoscoping, similar to A Scanner Darkly‘s aesthetic of animation being drawn over live action. I found this to be an excellent choice, as the production wasn’t bound by only live action and could better depict the martial artistry without looking cheap. Furthermore, I enjoyed the story itself, an epic imbued with heart and soul. Though the father and son both used their lives to find peace within and to make the world right for others, in the end, both only found their greatest peace when reuniting and reflecting on the events of their lives.

The Monk and the Samurai is a beautifully constructed short film inside and out. It is a film that grew on me with each rewind, and I look forward to any new volumes following these or similar characters.

7.25 out of 10