Yojimbo

Movie Review: Yojimbo

Year of Release: 1961
Country of Origin: Japan
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada

Plot outline: A samurai comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them off against each other to free the town (IMDb).

Akira Kurosawa frequently borrowed western themes for his movies, which in turn became the basis for western adaptations. A good example of this mutually beneficial cultural exchange is Yojimbo. The setting and story is similar to that of an American western, with Japanese equivalents substituted for gunmen, sheriffs, taverns and showdowns in the dusty streets. The success of Yojimbo bred imitations in the west. The first was A Fistful of Dollars (1964), the initial entry in Clint Eastwood's western trilogy with Italian director Sergio Leone. Less notable was Last Man Standing (1996), the remake starring Bruce Willis. The year is 1860. The fall of the Japanese Shogunate dynasty has led to the unemployment of samurai. One of them is Sanjuro (Toshirô Mifune), who wanders poor and hungry into a small town. He learns from bitter but compassionate Gonji (Eijirô Tôno) that the town is divided by two rival families, who each have hired criminal gangs to do the other in. This arrangement is for the benefit of both Sanjuro and the local coffin maker (Atsushi Watanabe). Learning that both sides are equally despicable, Sanjuro decides to play them off against each other. Kurosawa, of course, is one of the greatest directors of all time. His movies are consistently of very high quality. Yojimbo is a very good movie, but it is not up to the standards of his best movies. Sanjuro's swordsmanship, survival ability, and heroism take on mythic proportions, losing some credibility along the way. The supporting characters lack the depth found in The Seven Samurai (1954) or Ran (1985). Yojimbo also varies between drama and comedy, betraying some indecision on the part of Kurosawa. But, Yojimbo does have excellent cinematography, a unique, interesting score, and an entertaining story. And perhaps no movie better showcases the talents of Toshirô Mifune, who may be the greatest of all Japanese actors. (BK)

My judgement: *** out of 4 stars