Yojimbo (1961)

Kurosawa Akira

Japan

110 mins, black and white, Japanese (English subtitles), Criterion DVD

When there is a discussion of Kurosawa's work (or any Japanese director's, for that matter), many critics invariably mention the so-called "Oriental view," that is, the subtle differences between the East and West that manifest themselves in Japanese films. After viewing Yojimbo, one is tempted to dismiss these as the nonsense that they are. I am not saying that there are no cultural differences (that would be dumb), but I insist that there are themes that know no cultural, linguistic, or social barriers. The simple fact that this film was remade as a Western (A Fistfull of Dollars) and as a gangster film (Last Man Standing), both of which were quite successful, is suggestive. The fact that Yojimbo was a great commercial success in Japan, is proof.

Any Western audience can understand this film without an interpreter. The masterless samurai (Toshiro Mifune) ends up in some nameless village in the middle of nowhere by chance - recall the stick toss scene in the beginning. When he realizes that the village is amidst a war between two rival gangs, he decides to make some money and offers his services as a bodyguard to Seibei's clan. He makes up a name (Sanjuro) and proceeds to play off the two bosses to drive up his price.

Gradually, however, he becomes involved with the plight of the common villagers, and, when seeing how the cruelty of the gangster game translates into very real suffering of other villagers, he decides to help. Although he is nearly killed in the process, he succeeds in getting Ushitora to destroy Seibei, and then destroying Ushitora himself, freeing the village.

The plot is wrinkle-free and has no moral messages for the audience (unlike most Kurosawa films). The dark comedy alternates between humor and violence. Although most of the fighting occurs off-screen, its consequences are vividly dramatized: there are severed hands, blood gushing from cut wounds, the sound of swords biting into flesh, and close-ups of faces torn from torture. These may seem mild by modern standards, but for 1961, when most sword-fighting was filmed as dance, and violence had a cartoonish feel (no gore actually shown), this was an innovation that was to be imitated for the worse.

Even though these scenes can be hard to watch, the movie does not have a depressing feel to it, mainly because of the humorous way the villains and the hero are depicted. The hero is an amoral mercenary who hates weaklings - recall the scene where he threatens the family he had just reunited with bodily punishment unless they stop trying to thank him. Mifune has that excellent self-deprecating smile that makes his samurai believable.

Not so for the gang members, who are a motley bevy of incomparable characters, all ridiculous, cowardly, and inept at fighting. The most hilarious scene in the movie occurs when the two gangs decide to square it off in the middle of the day (their most other activities occur at night), and when they are basically afraid to come close to each other. Unlike a pack of wolves, they are scared even in numbers. Kurosawa's excellent use of the widescreen allows him to position the two gangs in the opposite corners of the screen and leave a huge empty middle, a no-man's land, where Sanjuro presides laughing.

Although not nearly as impressive as Kurosawa's more acclaimed films, Yojimbo is worth seeing, especially in the new pristine transfer by Criterion. I wish there were more extras on the DVD, though. Another interesting curiosity is the Japanese trailer, which features scenes that were not in the movie - not cut, but completely different. For example, the final showdown in the film is between Sanjuro and the entire Ushitora clan, not just his gunslinging main henchman, as shown in the preview. The scene where Sanjuro's duplicity is discovered is also shot from a different angle than the one in the film.

February 28, 2001. BLS