Sanjuro - Review

Toshiro Mifune?

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Kurosawa?

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Tatsuya Nakadai in a villain role?

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Companion film to one of the all-time most popular Samurai flicks?

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This considered, it’s all but impossible to miss Toshiro Mifune’s return as the “Japanese man with no name” in the follow up to the notoriously great “Yojimbo” (1961). “Sanjuro” offers a zanier experience and works with a more self-aware representation of the “Yojimbo” character to the point of this film standing on its own as a wildly entertaining experience.

Although the sequel concept of the time wasn’t nearly as defined as it is today, “Sanjuro” is clearly a film with a familiar character back again for another wacky misadventure, and that’s enough to keep this film and “Yojimbo” eternally associated. And yet, there’s a distinction between them. “Sanjuro” is no “Evil Dead 2”; it’s not a remake or a similar enough picture to essentially devalue the weaker film. This is more a “Temple of Doom” situation that re-evaluates its star character by placing him in a slightly different context.

Yet again Mifune’s classic character finds himself in the middle of a violent conflict, but this time the clear incentive is gone in lieu of “what else is a ronin to do but fight for a noble cause?” Unlike “Yojimbo”, this film has clear heroes and villains, at least we’re told it does. The bad guys are never actually shown doing anything sinister beyond what the other side is willing to do themselves. Mifune even laments the fact that he’s doing most of the killing. But our hero chooses to fight for the one side and proves charismatic enough that it doesn’t matter if he’s right or wrong to support them. Were the antagonists more wicked it would backtrack on much of what was established about the hero for hire in “Yojimbo”.

Mifune doubles down on his established character, emphasizing his swagger and generally casual approach to a life-threatening situation. It cannot be stressed enough that he is what elevates this flick from merely a well done samurai movie to a classic. “Sanjuro” understandably feels like it’s built around this character at times, but it’s a means to more screen time for one of cinema’s coolest swordsmen.

While I’m complaining, in “Sanjuro”, the ronin does become somewhat of a superhero, untouchable, skilled beyond the ability of 20 men to defeat, but this is consistent with the film’s cartoonish tone. If the bombastic score doesn’t make it clear enough, this is not a feature of much weight. All the people the yojimbo murders (save perhaps his final kill) are “action movie casualties” provided in good fun. It’s a surprisingly humorous film (notice the humor in the villains assuming Mufune will serve them because of a presumed honor code that the yojimbo clearly doesn’t adhere to) with badass action sequences and a big, obvious plot that’s sure to please. “Sanjuro” is anything but a difficult watch.

In terms of production value, the sequel is far superior to “Yojimbo”. While Kurosawa makes very admirable, deliberate choices with the camera in the earlier flick, and it’s probably the better movie, “Sanjuro” boasts more expensive camera movement and better choreography that help maintain a breakneck pace

With some exceptions, I’m not the biggest Akira Kurosawa fan. In general, I find his works unengaging and lacking in subtlety, albeit most of them are exceptionally well crafted. However, “Sanjuro” is a rare film from the director I can see myself revisiting consistently. It’s not that it avoids these issues, more so it’s just a tight popcorn flick that’s perfect for when you don’t have an entire day to dedicate to “Seven Samurai”.

Verdict - Great