Yojimbo

Before this, I had only seen two movies by Akira Kurosawa: Rashômon and Seven Samurai. And even though I found the former to be pretty standard (especially having seen the same technique used many times since) and the latter to be drawn-out and rather dull, I was impressed by both. There’s no denying Kurosawa had an excellent eye for details, a relenting passion to invent new things, and an extraordinary ability to make even the simplest story riveting.

Toshirô Mifune portrays a cynical nineteenth century samurai who finds himself in the middle of a feud-torn Japanese village. Being a professional, he carefully weighs his options before deciding who he’s going to serve. Of course, he never promised he would stay loyal…

Toshirô Mifune is nothing short of brilliant in this role. His samurai services have a price, of course, yet he possesses something akin to a moral code, which lends the character a lot of subtle nuances. He’s by far the least corrupt man in the whole town, but his wards would do well to remember that he’s essentially a rogue samurai. He is also a consummate badass; one of the coolest characters I’ve ever seen.

The direction is highly stylised, and the cinematography gorgeous, so it’s not only a treat for the mind, but also for the eyes. It’s a little talk-y in the beginning, and I did find it hard at times to follow along in the who’s who of all the characters, but it’s never boring. Furthermore, the stylised direction never takes anything away from the substance of the story and the themes explored.

Yojimbo would later be remade as A Fistful of Dollars, directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as the unnamed protagonist. While Leone’s first entry into his dollars trilogy is a great movie, it’s still no patch on Kurosawa’s version.

This movie was nigh-on perfect in every way. If you’ve yet to see any Kurosawa, I suggest you look no further than Yojimbo.