From a writer's perspective, this movie has a major flaw that prevented it from being a "classic" in my mind.
It was very good until Zushio has Sansho arrested and the bailiff's house burns down. This moment should have seen Zushio face the conflict that the whole story was building towards: living his father's lessons. Becoming governor and freeing the slaves is only the first step. Facing the consequences is the central conflict of the character change. If resigning was the conflict, there was none visible in him. I was disappointed and confused to see him resign. The resignation should have come from the conflict coming from arresting Sansho. The ending is frustrating as a result: why not save his mother with his power as governor? If he had to search for her in poverty because of being forced to resign, even that would have been better.
I open to dialogue on this.
Review of Sansho the Bailiff
