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Written by: Akira Kurosawa & Shinobu Hashimoto & Hideo Oguni (screenplay by)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Isao Kimura, Daisuke Katō, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Kuninori Kōdō, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Eijiro Tono, Jun Tatara, Atsushi Watanabe, Yoshio Kosugi, Bokuzen Hidari, Yukiko Shimazaki
Rated: NR [PG-13]
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Plot
In this Japanese language film, farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, and he gathers six other samurai to join him.
Verdict
It's a classic and for good reason. This relays a long shot tale of a desperate group of warriors sacrificing for a village that otherwise would have no hope. The village must rely on imperfect samurai, their last defense. Despite their shortcomings, we root for these samurai to succeed because of their flaws, and that also lends tension as we don't know if they can even win. It may be an old movie, but it endures based on strength of story as it serves as a blueprint for films even today.
Watch It.
Review
I find older movies difficult to watch due to cultural and stylistic shifts, but there's something about Kurosawa movies that remain timeless. This is about honor and sacrifice. The samurai get these big hero moment, not for gain but for doing what's right. They're under dogs, failed samurai, or just over the hill, but we're rooting for them despite their shortcomings.
This was one of the first movies, and certainly the best remembered, for bringing a team together to save the day. While the concept seem ubiquitous now, this was a pioneer.
Bandits torment a village demanding rice and supplies as payment. The village isn't powerful enough to fight back, and they can't afford to pay them off. They decide to hire a samurai to defend them, offering food as a payment. They find the right man in Kambei (Takashi Shimura), an aging samurai that saves a boy from a thief to cement the village's faith in him. He recruits six others.
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| Takashi Shimura plays Kambei Shimada |
These samurai aren't fighting an epic battle, but they are upholding justice by fighting for those that can't. Even if it isn't glorious, these samurai exude honor. Kambei realizes that six isn't enough to defeat the bandits, so he trains the villagers. He also asks the inhabitants in outlying houses to move to the center of the village. They don't like that, but as he tells them they're an easy target to get picked off.
This is a ragged group of warriors, and part of this battle is a shot at redemption. It's a way to feel useful for the ones that are unqualified and way for others to make up for their past. They discover the bandit hideout after detaining three scouts and launch a preemptive attack to even the odds. That only enrages the bandits who attack the now fortified village. While the attack is thwarted, the threat isn't gone.
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| Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura play Kikuchiyo, Kambei Shimada |
Part of what resonates is that the villagers and samurai are trying to do their best. They aren't perfect. I want them to win because of their flaws so they can have that redemptive moment. Because they're not perfect, we wonder if they can defeat the bandits. That leads to the penultimate fight where they work together to defeat the bandits, but many of the samurai consider it a loss as the cost was too great. It's a bittersweet victory.
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| Title Card |
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