Review of Yojimbo (1961) by Matt P — 07 Nov 2011

Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" tells the tale of a poor run down town, run by two vicious gangs (in this case, the family of the town's previous mayor, and the other his rebellious bodyguard and his scumbag brothers). At heart there is treachery and deceit everywhere. But when a mysterious samurai named Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) wanders in, he plays the gangs against one another for his own profit, and better yet, the freedom of the town. He thus exposes the need for justice in the town, to free those stuck in the middle.

What we learn (from a hilariously filmed scene where Mifune stands on a tower surveying the gangs quake in fear at each other's stupidity) is that everyone in the town is a coward. If there is a strong man, it is the one who holds his ground (such Cooper the casket maker). Sanjuro embodies that, and gives the limited men the hope that the town will one day be restored to its former glory. However, Sanjuro is not your average "hero." Kurosawa is often regarded as the most western of Japanese directors. He acknowledges the American western films with iconic stars (such as Shane, or The Searchers) and in "Yojimbo" seeks to meld his own version of an iconic "cowboy." Mifune is natural at playing a tough brute who exerts little emotion but tremendous force. The swipe of a man's arm is how loud his actions speak, and his actions are made clear when he sets his pieces into motion and has the two gangs ready to square off.

"Yojimbo," (like so many other films it was later copied off of) is a movie that requires little of your psychological or intellectual skill. This is not to say it is a completely style/substance film, but I think Kurosawa sought out to make it one of his more stylistic films. There are some great scenes with character psychology, but most of the time it's all about looking at some genuinely original shots, with an iconic score and some eye catching entertainment. It's considered a dark comedy, and I think it works so well mainly because it's not taking itself too seriously. By the end, we're not warmed by the justice Sanjuro has done the town. If anything, we're more vexed at the site of another bloody massacre that took place and left the town in shambles. Almost as if to say, "another day in the life."--which is a theme I think is recurring in most of Kurosawa's samurai films. Just because there is a man who stands between the two evils does not necessarily make him a saint. At most he is a simple boydguard who makes all this savage killing and terror official.

"Yojimbo" is a film that should not be overlooked. Sure, it may not carry the same depth and capacity of "Seven Samurai," but its status in straight up "badassery" is what sparked directors like Sergio Leone to innovate the American western, and later ones like Quentin Tarantino to homage it (Kill Bill). In times of peril we may all need a "Sanjuro" to rectify the social injustices inflicted upon those poor and helpless.

P.S. It's inevitable for me to bring up Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars." I credit him for re imagining "Yojimbo," but all credit and originality goes to Kurosawa.