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Yojimbo (1961)
Dir: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada
Summary
A Ronin arrives in a small town in the grip of warring crime lords. Despite a warning to move on, he uses the fact that both sides seek his skills as a swordsman to his advantage, as he believes the town would be better without either side.
Synopsis
After hearing an elderly farming couple lamenting the fact their son has joined local bandits; a ronin arrives in a town which the divided by a gang war. In the town, he meets the owner of the local izakaya (pub /bar) who advises him to keep travel after explaining how the town is divided by local gangs headed by Ushitora and Seibei. The ronin decides to stay as he feels the town would be better with both sides dead.
Initially siding with Seibei for a hefty fee, the ronin leads Seibai to a showdown with Ushitora. However, the Ronin has become aware of the plan to have him killed to avoid having to pay. He resigns from Seibei in front of Ushitora leaving them to face their fate. The showdown is avoided with the unexpected arrival of a government official.
The government official called away to another village, due the murder of another official, the Ronin becomes aware that it was Ushitora who organised the murder to get the official to leave. The Ronin captures the assassins and sell the to Seibei, but tells Ushitora that it was Seibei men that caught them earning a reward from Ushitora.
Ushitora then orders the kidnapping of Seibei’s son who he offers in exchange for the two prisoners. However, Ushitora double crosses Seibei at the swap when his brother, Unosuke, shoots the assassins with a pistol. But Seibei anticipated this so he kidnapped Ushitora’s woman. The next morning she is swapped with Seibei’s son.
The Ronin finds out that the woman was the wife of a local farmer, who he lost over a gambling debt. The Ronin tells Ushitora that Seibei is coming to take her back. Using the cover of Ushitora gathering his men, the Ronin kills Ushitora’s guards and reunites the woman with her family as encourages them to he flee. However, Unosoke is suspicious and see’s through the Ronin’s doublecross; the ronin is then severely beaten.
Despite the beating the ronin escapes with the assistance of the izakaya owner Ushitora is the destroying Seibei. However, while is recuperating in a graveyard, he finds out the izakaya owner has been captured by Ushitora so he returns to the town and kills Ushitora and all his men, despite Unosoke’s use of a pistol.
His work completed the Ronin leaves town and moves on.
Review
While I know that this film inspired a spaghetti western, I was surprised by the overall western feel of the movie, the Ronin and the warring gangs are far more interchangeable with the old west than the theme and styles of the other famous Kurosawa film remade as western the “The Seven Samurai”.
The performance of the lead Toshiro Mifune is fantastic; there is much subtlety in his facial expression which great depth to the dramatic and comic moments – have heard his film called a comedy, I think that doing it a disservice, it is satirical, and it is not taking itself too seriously. The comic moments lighten what essentially is, a dark story; although not a dark as the Seven Samurai.
The visual styling of the film pleases, an almost graphical nature to the shots, e.g., the long shots and how the camera is a right angle to the action. I’m less convinced about the score – it is very western and overly dramatic, I would have preferred a little more subtlety.
Overall though the best film I have watched so far in connection with this course.