Yojimbo (1961)

Yojimbo (1961)

starring Toshirō Mifune, Eijirō Tōno, Tatsuya Nakadai

directed by Akira Kurosawa

110 minutes

A rōnin (Toshirō Mifune), in 1860,  arrives by chance in a small town that would be in in the midst of a gang war if it weren't for the fact that both gang leaders are hesitant to brake the stalemate that currently exists. The rōnin sees an opportunity and, rather than leave town, plays both sides in the gang war off against one another. Eventually they get wise to what he is doing after he pushes his luck by helping a couple and their young son escape town.

The rōnin faces almost certain death when the two gangs decide to set aside their differences and deal with him. He escapes thanks to a mixture of his own ingenuity and some help from Gonji (Eijirō Tōno), a tavern owner who first warned the rōnin about staying in town. His escape prompts one gang leaders to turn on the other and break the short lived truce.

One gang gets obliterated. The other is poised to become the unquestioned dominant power in town when the rōnin resurfaces and kills off the remaining gang including the pistol bearing Unosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai).

Thoughts

I really like the music in this film. It helped to get me through some parts where I was having trouble making sense of where the movie was going.

There are a number of actors in addition to the three named above that I have seen in other movies such as Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Kamatari Fujiwara, Ikio Sawamura, Atsushi Watanabe. Most of these actors I don't know by name. Most if not all of them have been in other Kurosawa films that I have seen.

I watched this movie once before, in 2002. I didn't recall all the details and there are more details than what I was able to latch onto during this viewing. Honestly, in some ways, reading about it now after watching it, I feel as though there is maybe a bit too much mixed into the plot. Some of those elements really don't get very much screen time. It might also be that some elements of the plot are better understood by someone with a better understanding of the period. 

Good film? Yes, but I honestly think I probably need to watch it again to better appreciate it.