To me, this movie is perfection.

Admirable film.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Have a friend who is a MA buff.He has strong views.He says that Chinese film makers often get confused between the pure fighting and the costume budget. Sometimes they emphasize one when they should emphasize the other.He is also harsh with the Japanese studios, saying that over the years they have given in to the exploitation market by doing films about hi--kicking karate girls, karate sisters, karate high school students, etc.So this one is a jewel. Amazingly pure to the original notion of what MA are supposed to be, a simple yet powerful script, great acting and direction.Almost the Asian equivalent of SHANE.

Black Belt, or in Japanese kuro-obi is a Japanese martial-arts movie directed by Sunichi Nagasaki. Although the director was nominated for the Action Asia Award in Deauville Asian film festival in 2008 as well as for the Grand Prix des Ameriques in Montréal World Film Festival in 2007, he didn't win any of those prices. However the film was a great success in Japan. For me too. Before watching this movie, I wasn't a great fan of martial-arts movies because of the exaggerations and the special effects in this type of movies. But after watching this movie of which you can say everything except that it contains special effects. That gives the movie a natural touch. For example there is no one in the movie who is jumping meters in the air while fighting or making incredible stunts and tricks. I have never seen such a movie. In other words you can't feel any distance between yourself and the acting. This makes it easier to watch the movie. The three principal actors in the movie are Akihito yagi playing the role of Giryu, Tatsuya Noka playing the role of Taika and Juji Suzuki playing the role of Choei. None of the three actors is known in the West. The story is about three Karate students. The three rules are played by the just mentioned actors. They live with their Karate master in a secluded forest where their dojo is (a dojo can refer to a temple or to a simple training place where karate students can ameliorate their skills). The events take place in the year of 1932 when Japan was planning for a great invasion of the islands on the Pacific, so they needed a great army. The three pupils were forced by the army forces to join the army. At that time their master dies before he was able to give his black belt to one of his three students. The receiver of the belt will be the successor of the great master. After burying their master they leave forced by the army their dojo. Everyone of them go on a different path based on what he has learned from the teaching of his master. The coincidence will gather them on a battle. The philosophy of martial-arts has an important role in this movie. You must have some background information concerning martial-arts philosophy to understand this movie. I recommend those who do not understand karate-philosophy and think that karate is no more than fighting to watch the movie

As a Goju Ryu Instructor and a professional actress I have a unique perspective with which to review this film. I LOVED it! Some of the acting (military police) hints at Gay 90's Melodrama. However, the simple and honest portrayal of Goju Ryu Karate is thrilling to see. The three main characters are portrayed so very well. It's hard to believe that the players are martial artists and NOT actors. I, too, stumbled over the symbolism of the red balloon. After some thought, it seemed to me to be a metaphor for setting one's spirit free. Kenta first spies a red balloon flying free as he is heading to rescue his sister. While Giryu loosens a red balloon from the tree in which it is entangled, symbolizing his working out the issue he has with the restrictions placed upon him by his O Sensei and how he can be correct in the world and in his karate. It's a bit 'schtick-y', but I can deal with it as it is in line with the genre. The fighting is very realistic. It's not flashy. There are no leaping, spinning, summer-saulting back kicks. There are no nun chuckku. Don't expect to see and computer generated graphics. This movie is about pure Karate and what it means to train for your whole life. Why do we train? To fight? No, to be our best. If we must fight, we must; but it is not why we train. It is one moment of 'supreme bliss'.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss kobushi's comments out of hand, even though I disagree -- I actually liked this movie a lot. His comments point to a central controversy in the martial arts world today, which is essential, I think to understanding this movie: Do the "traditional" arts such as karate, jujitsu, and their Chinese predecessors have any relevance at all in a world full of knives & guns? Does kata have any relevance in a world of folks who watch "mixed-martial artists" on pay-per-view and can learn how to kill with their bare hands in 10 easy Krav-Maga lessons? The movie seems to throw that question out there, and answer it with a resounding: YES! I've never heard a martial arts instructor (any style) say to ONLY use defensive techniques (even aikido has its atemi-waza) but that would be the Okinawan tradition of "karate ni sente nashi" (no first-strike)taken to its logical extreme -- if I can block every kick or punch, then in the very purest sense, I could never hit or kick you back (without violating the precept) -- nor would I need to. I'm not recommending the philosophy or even saying it is possible (even Giryu gets beat up), just trying to make it understandable. One other sine qua non of some of these traditional styles was "ichi-geki-hissatsu", (one-hit, certain death) which is visually demonstrated throughout the movie: I've personally been hit with most of the techniques Taikan uses in the fight scenes, and none came close to killing me, but if you're fighting for real, for your life or loved ones or country or king, and you've trained for full-power, that's another story, and these guys obviously were and did.That the army forced the school to teach the military is reminiscent of Gichin Funakoshi's coerced immigration to the Japanese mainland from Okinawa for exactly that purpose -- to bring "Chinese Hands (karate)" to Japan renamed as "Empty Hand".In the end, even Taikan realizes that the game is not so much about being the baddest guy on the block, or taking home the most trophies or the master's belt, but about the character you build inside along the way.Personally, I find these fight scenes a lot more interesting and in their own way more realistic than those chop-socky movies where guys (or gals) throw devastating full-contact kicks and punches at each other for 10-15 min., bow to each other, and walk away.