By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Daisuke Katô | Isuzu Yamada | Seizaburô Kawazu | Takashi Shimura | Tatsuya Nakadai | Toshirô Mifune | Yôko Tsukasa
Country: japan
Year: 1961
Running time: 110
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/reference
Michael says: “I guess it doesn’t matter if their Japanese and directed by a master, I’m just to that much of a fan, with the exception of a handful of revisionist/feminist takes, of the western. Although in fact, YOJIMBO, which means bouncer, or b bodyguard in English, was based on the detective novels of Dashiell Hammet, but based on American westerns, especially the lone-hero films of John Ford. The nameless, ronin samurai who is the protagonist of the limo, swaggers into town in a nearly identical homage to John Wayne. He is a man of few words, has little patience for sensitivity… in fact, he despises it… but he knows what integrity and honor are and when he arrives in a small Japanese village that is being torn apart by what is essentially a gang war between the silk merchant and the sake merchant, he gets himself hired as the bodyguard of both, only to set the wheels in motion for the downfall of both.
“Nearly 23 years into his directorial career, Kurosawa is still an intriguing filmmaker, even when it’s a genre that doesn’t interest me. The film is much goofier than I expected, given the dark undertone running through hit. The lead character is a bit of an anti-hero, given his gruff disdain for sensitivity. Toshirô Mifune steps into the role like a well-worn sweater having already starred in Kurosawa classics, RASHOMON, THE SEVEN SAMURAI, THRONE OF BLOOD, and THE HIDDEN FORTRESS. You can see the heroic samurai is getting a bit older and grizzled, worn down by life, but still doing the right thing. As part of Kurosawa’s canon, it makes sense, but for me it can’t compete with some of his grandest moments. 3 cats”