Review of Yojimbo (1961) by Karin K — 04 Jul 2010

This is the second film by the master director Akira Kurosawa that I have seen and while not as good as Seven Samurai it's still an excellent film.

The plot should be quite familiar to many people as it has inspired many films and has been remade as a western by Sergio Leone in a Fistful of Dollars, but if you're not at all familiar with it then read my short synopsis:

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD..

A wandering Samurai ,who after the collapse of the monarchy has no master, arrives at a town split in half by two.

Factions : one of them led by the local boss Seibei has it's base in a brothel and is supported by the mayor.

The other is led by Ishitora who used to be Seibei right hand man but rebelled, Ishitora is helped by his two brothers and the local brewer.

Sanjuro (which is what the wandering samurai calls himself) decides to stay in the village and after demonstrating his superior skill with a blade is very much sought after by both Sambei and Ishitora. He refuses most advances and proceeds to fallow his own agenda which after many twists and turns ends with both families being irreparably weakened and Sanjuro leaving the town which is now peaceful.

The direction by Kurosawa was perfect, every shot seemed to have been perfectly planned and each shot merges perfectly with the next, the Black and White is expertly used as are the elements such as rain or wind. Some shots are so amazing and last just the right amount of time that they stay stuck in the mind for quite a while afterwards. The action sequences where ,like on the Seven Samurai, excellent even though they were more violent on this film.

The soundtrack was great and in my opinion a definite improvement on the soundtrack of the Seven samurai, the large number and diversity of instruments can be heard and many of them seemed to be traditional Japanese instruments which were well suited to the film.

The acting was great from the whole cast even if some performed better than others, but overall Toshiro Mifune was easily the best and gives an incredible and outstanding performance. He really became his character and I really believed in his character, he seemed to have come right out of 19th century Japan. After being impressed by his performance in The Seven Samurai and again in this film I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of this great actor that many consider to be the best Japanese actor ever.

The characters were all very well developed, from the tavern keeper to the bosses of the families. The character of Sanjuro was very interesting, he had no purpose in the town but chose to stay and help anyway even though there was little prospect of reward, he acts rather mean and cruel but he risked his life to save a family that were being oppressed and even gave them all his money.

The character of Unosuke, the youngest brother of Ishitora and the main villain, was very unlikeable and cowardly especially when he shoots his enemies that surrender. He is the only one in the film armed with a gun which makes him the deadliest opponent Sanjuro has to face.

The plot was familiar to me in basically all it's details but was still entertaining to watch and offers loads of complex twists and turns that keep the viewer entertained throughout. The abundance of secondary characters and various sub-plots can make it hard to follow at times but overall it's just a great and well thought out plot. The lifestyle of Japanese of that time is very well portrayed in this film, I especially liked the shots of the interiors of houses and the fact that we see them eating various foods and drinks. Various aspects of Japanese culture are included such as the mentions of a silk-fair, the officer who is the equivalent of a sheriff, the official inspections, the amounts of money used for certain things....

There was a signifiant amount of comedy contained in this film although it is hidden under the serious plot, some scenes were hilarious and so were many characters.

The dialogue was in Japanese seeing as I always try to watch films in their Original Version but the subtitles were clear and comprehensible although sometimes change rather fast.

Overall this is an Epic film by master director Akira Kurosawa even though it is often overlooked in favor of his more famous ones. There is a sequel to this named Sanjuro which sounds just as excellent and I can't wait to watch it.

Highly recommended to all Kurosawa fans; if you have'nt seen any of his films yet I do recommend that you start by another one though such as The Seven Samurai .

Cinematography 10/10.

Acting 9/10.

Soundtrack 10/10.

Screenplay 10/10.

Plot 9/10.