One of the Great Films, but First Viewing May Be Problematic
Although I loved the visual style of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece of world cinema Seven Samurai right away, I found the film a little baffling the first time I saw it. The acting styles and makeup seemed too theatrical for a film, and I was taken aback that the star, Toshiro Mifune—one of my favorite actors—seemed like such a buffoon most of the time. Worse yet, there were so many characters with unfamiliar names and faces that I had trouble keeping them straight through this three-and-one-half-hour epic. But if you can only drop your preconceived ideas of what a movie ought to be and carefully watch Seven Samurai several times, I think you'll come to agree with me that this is one of the greatest films ever made.
Historical Background and Story Setting
Seven Samurai is set in Japan during the 16th century, a time when there was no central authority and much of the country was ruled by warlords. Civil wars had created a feudal society in a state of disorder, and gangs of bandits roamed the countryside. To protect the areas they controlled, lords employed samurai, a hereditary class of skilled professional warriors. But things were so unstable that there were always unemployed samurai seeking new positions.
The story in Seven Samurai centers on an unnamed village of 23 houses that is apparently too insignificant for any lord to bother with. This village of peasant farmers has been raided repeatedly in the past by a gang of 40 bandits whose lair is only a half-day's ride away. At will, the bandits ride over to the village on horseback, seize the farmers' crops, horses, and women, and return to their lair with their spoils.
Peasants Come Up With a Novel Plan for Defending Their Village
The first villager we see turns out to be a servile little old man named Yohei who overhears the bandits discussing their intent to raid the village again as soon as the villagers have harvested their barley. Later, Yohei reports what he has heard to other villagers, who work themselves into a state of great anguish over their plight. One of the villagers suggests, "Let's greet them meekly. Give up our crops. Just beg them to leave something so we won't starve. On our knees let's beg them, so we can live!" But other villagers want to fight, even though they know they are no match for the bandits. Included among these is the angry Rikichi, whose wife has been taken by the bandits.
Eventually, the wizened old village patriarch proposes a course of action that is so far outside the societal norm that it is met with ridicule by nearly every character in the film: the village should employ samurai to protect them. But a peasant named Manzo opposes this approach on the grounds that his pretty daughter Shino will be seduced by one of the samurai. Ultimately, however, four villagers are dispatched to a city to try to recruit the samurai, although all they can offer is bed and board.
Putting Together a Team of Six Samurai
In the city we witness an incident where a seasoned samurai named Kambei (Takashi Shimura) rescues a seven-year-old boy taken hostage by a thief. After the incident, Kambei is asked by an eager, aristocratic-looking young man named Katsushiro (Ko Kimura) to take him on as a disciple. But the weary Kambei refuses, telling Katsushiro, "I'm not a man with any special skills. But I've had plenty of experience in battles, losing battles, all of them."
The four villagers also see Kambei's rescue of the boy, and ask him if he will take on the defense of their village. Apparently because he feels it is the right thing to do, Kambei agrees to help the villagers, but he tells them the job will require a total of seven samurai, including himself. With the assistance of Katsushiro, Kambei sets out to recruit six additional samurai. When Kambei meets an old comrade, he tells him, "I'm preparing for a tough war. It will bring us neither fame nor glory. Want to join?" Without hesitation, the old comrade answers, "Yes!" Eventually, the charismatic Kambei is able to assemble a team of five samurai including himself. But realizing that he is still two men short, Kambei reluctantly agrees to take Katsushiro along on the mission, even though the young man has little or no relevant training or experience.
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