4 out of 5

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Im not going to claim to be an authority on Kurosawa. His works seem better appreciated when their place in history is explained, suggesting that once having viewed a fuller body of his work and comparing it to the time it was released, Ill grasp it more. Now, having only seen Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, I regard him as very capable and obviously meticulous, but not yet grabbing. Regardless, Yojimbo, about a nameless, masterless samurai who wanders into a run-down town that has been overtaken by two warring gangs, is entertaining, and fascinating for its combination of grit and comedy. What stuck out most to me here was lead Toshiro Mifunes look throughout the film and the soundtrack. As Mifune begins to play the gangs against each other in the hopes of profiting, his character continually looks equally contemplative, cunning, stumbling, and dirty, like hes always thinking but always stopping to tie his shoe when swords are flying over his head. When his character is tortured later in the film its such a stark contrast with his seemingly bumbling nature (and the oddly propulsive and yet light-hearted soundtrack) that you dont quite know how to respond. And that was my issue here – apparently made inspired from both dashiell hammett novels and american westerns, Yojimbo has some funny moments, and great characters and juxtapositions, but the lead feels rather untouchable, and as such its hard to get wrapped up in the world, because you know hes going to walk off into the sunset at the end. Nonetheless, primely entertaining, and my first hints at how well structured and consistent (within themselves – the style stayed consistent in the movie) Kurosawa can be.