MUBI

Sanjuro is not a film about sword play and is not a samurai drama (all of this is surface structure).
It is a film about the fatal danger democratic societies face today: the danger of being overthrown by the right wing political powers.
In “SANJURO” Kurosawa provides penetrating psychological analysis of right wing-conservative politicians using many Western analogies.
Kurosawa dedicates special attention to the analysis of the psychological condition of young people who unfortunately can be easy target of conservative propaganda.
From Sanjuro, the main character of the film we can learn a lot about the values alternative to the dominant orientation on power, wealth and war.
See analysis of 22 shots from “SANJURO” and an article: “Homeless Guru as a Role Model” at:
www.actingoutpolitics.com
By Victor

At first, it seems casually tossed off—which, I gather, in some ways it was. As the return of Toshiro Mifune’s wandering samurai, it followed close on the heels of Yojimbo at the request of the studio. And compared to its predecessor, it’s smaller, less weighty, and less suspenseful.

And yet, rather than feeling slight, it feels appropriate, because this is a gentler story. The dark and dangerous atmosphere of Yojimbo is overtaken by Kurosawa’s warmer humanism, and unlike in its predecessor, Sanjuro is buoyed by a feeling that nothing can go too wrong for too long. After all, this is the action movie where Mifune’s cool detachment is melted by genuine affection for a group of naive amateurs. And it’s the action movie where the samurai (and the audience) learn that some villainous henchmen are actually pretty nice guys.

8 out of 10.

I’ve seen Yojimbo and thought that it was pretty good. It was nowhere hear as good as, say, Kurosawa’s other period pieces, such as Seven Samurai or Rashomon, but it’s still a worthwhile film. However, there was something that was keeping me from completely loving it, and, to this day, I still can’t put my finger on it.

So is it such a crime that I liked and enjoyed Sanjuro a whole lot more than Yojimbo? Toshiro Mifune reprises his role as Kuwabatake Sanjuro, the wandering ronin for this sequel to Yojimbo. Mifune brings back everything that we loved about the character in the first film; Sanjuro is as witty and eccentric as ever. We see him taunt his opponents, make wry comments about his comrades and trick the opposition. Mifune has made Sanjuro as abrasive as possible, and it reminds us that only Mifune would be able to pull this off.

Sanjuro is much more lighthearted than its predecessor. There is nothing groundbreaking about this film; it’s more of a fan service than anything. Instead of ridding two gangs Sanjuro helps a bunch of doomed samurai save their innocent chamberlain and bring justice to the clan, which is now in the process of being overthrown. We see him slice and dice through other warriors, including a great finale where a humongous gush of blood shoots in the air (apparently the hose they used to shoot out the blood malfunctioned and the actor was literally straining from the force of the pressurized blood). Watching him infiltrate armies and scheming with camellias just brings a smile to my face.

If there’s one problem in Kurosawa films it’s his weak scripting for female characters. I wouldn’t say that he’s sexist, I just think that he doesn’t care, or bothers to think about them. The two female characters in this film, no matter how right and moral they may be, come off as extremely annoying. Regardless, these two characters have a rather small role compared to the other cast members, so it didn’t ruin the movie for me. The film is nowhere near as serious as Yojimbo, but this delightful follow-up is a worthy sequel that even surpasses the original.