Based on an ancient Japanese folk story, The Warrior is the visually remarkable, if narratively flawed, debut from Asif Kapadia. While the story may have its origins in Oriental culture, Kapadia transports the action to India. Lafcadia (Irfan Khan) is a renown warrior, who has been a faithful (read: ruthless) servant to his master. However, his years of blindly following unscrupulous demands leads to Lafcadia having a moral crisis and renouncing violent ways. His master isn't exactly overjoyed with this news and sends another soldier, Biswas (Annuddin) to track Lafcadia down and pay for his insubordination. In terms of visuals, The Warrior is one of the most beautifully realised and rendered films of the year. Virtually every frame of the film is immaculately composed, a shimmering collection of stark, evocative images. However you get the impression that Kapadia yearns for The Warrior to be viewed as an epic, an instant classic. This, in itself, is no bad thing, but when he abandons the fundamentals of character development and expressive dialogue, you can't help but feel a little manipulated. Still, for a debut, it's wildly impressive stuff and if he learns from his mistakes here, Kapadia's next offering could be a cracker.
