Verdict:
Our lead character, Sanjuro, the traveling ronin, is an interesting one. In modern cinema, we expect the main hero’s motivations to be love or some greater cause. The Ronin on this film initially seems to start the war between 2 gangs to earn money. But it seems he is also doing it as much out of boredom as for any other reason. He seeks something to do, after losing his job in late Edo Japan.
For such a highly revered film, it may be surprising that the plot of Yojimbo is flawed. Ronin’s plan and actions make sense on paper but are not always executed that well visually. His escape at one point requires the gang members to be idiots. At the same time, it’s rather interesting that things don’t go the way the viewer expects. The main character, for one, isn’t always lucky and his swordsmanship doesn’t always save him. Every now and then, he’s defeated.
The characters are all slightly exaggerated. The evil smart man has an evil smile and an advantage; the stupid man has the unibrow and the arrogance; the cowards are pacing and have a scared look on their face. It makes the movie more colourful and doesn’t feel as cheesy as in other movies with similar exaggeration. Daisuke Katô is very funny playing dim-witted underboss. Toshirô Mifune plays Sanjuro as a conflicted sad figure, with a sardonic dark humour and murderous skills.
The mood is somewhat comical, with the accent put on the silliness of the criminal element. It’s like a comical Western…Excuse me, “Eastern”.
To get some of the film’s themes, one does need to know some background, including the workings of feudal Japan, the understanding of the issues of the period, like the bribes.
There is creative cinematography at play. Kurosawa continuously makes use of window frames and panels for framing his shots. The blocking of characters is theatrical and methodical. He plays with the use of alternative types of cuts. Nothing feels out of place. Action is well choreographed and is not over the top. The music is foreboding and dissonant. Sound is used to great effect, for example to announce certain characters.
The final verdict is that Yojimbo is a movie that’s very interesting to watch. It owes this to the story, the actors, the music and just plain good movie directing.