Yojimbo (1961) : Kurosawa's classic samurai story blended with western elements.
Yojimbo(1961) is a phenomenal film. It is a blend of a samurai story with western elements. The movie has this sense of savagery with its setting and period but mixed with some great drama and humor. Set in the 19th century of Japan, after the collapse of the Tokugawa Dynasty (this information is informed at the start of the film) samurai during this era were said to be unemployed and find work where ever it could be found. Here we get introduced to our protagonist, a nameless Ronin who finds a deserted town that has two rival gangs and are always in conflict with one another. With this opportunity the Ronin offers himself up to be a Yojimbo (a bodyguard) and takes up the name of Sanjuro Kuwabatake.
The town is a mess and deserted, an emptiness that can alluded to the anarchy that is prevailing there. The moment the samurai arrives he sees a dog carrying a severed hand. No business besides the casket maker flourishes. Gonji a restaurant and tavern owner warns him of this bloodshed and feud that always prevails in the town. There is no one that is “good” per se in this town. Everyone acts in their own volition. They desire only the local gambling trade. Gonji narrates how one group is headed by Ushitora and the other Seibei (who has the lucrative gambling business ) and how Ushitora was Seibei’s right hand man until there was a conflict on who was the successor of the business leading to their rift.
The caricature of Sanjuro’s body language by keeping his hands inside the robe he wears, to the staunch upright position of his movement defines the motivation and power that he has control of. Both the factions get a taste of his prowess that he showcases so they both try to employ him as their bodyguard but here Sanjuro plays a game of chess where he maneuvers back and forth exploiting the advantages that are in front of him. This shows an amorality characteristic in Sanjuro. There is no reaping goodness initially but when he does something heroic we as an audience are surprised like when he saves a farmer and wife from Seibei’s gang and how he cuts down there 6 guards and lies for them to escape. It is the first time we see a sort of hero’s arc, a heroic duty.
Sanjuro’s balance of power is disrupted when Unosuke finally arrives. One of the younger brothers from Sebei’s gang. We are introduced to him in a similar manner as of Sanjuro. Where he hides his arms under his robe and when he reveals what's under his hands we see he pops out a gun. This weapon creates a chaos among town and Sanjuro also, as all Unosuke has to do is shoot. He even demonstrates by shooting someone in cold blood. And this effect creates disruption as conveyed by the loss of the casket maker business.
The character of Unosuke wielding a gun could be the blend and influence of westerns. And it is told that Kurosawa is a great fan and admirer of John Ford’s films. Ironical though Yojimbo influenced many greats like Clint Eastwood in which he also pays a homage in Man With No Name trilogy.
The film is shot and captured beautifully like most of Kurosawa’s films where the environment plays a part in the storytelling like a scene where we see the two factions are head on each other from both ends and Sanjuro is situated on top of a tower as he watched with a birds eye view and laughs at the prospect. It is metaphorical and humorful.
Yojimbo has a subversive and simplistic quality yet the storytelling is powerful and represents the nature of a lonesome samurai and his ways of a heroic transformation. Moments of great power and struggle under the human nature of conflict is shown beautifully with top notch performances. A film that is definitely one of Kurosawa’s best and he has a lot of them.