Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai (1954) - 10/10

Second Viewing: 3/24/08
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Cinematography by Asakazu Nakai

Kurosawa's film follows the plight of a village of helpless farmers who enlist the help of samurai - with no more than an offer of providing food - to fend off forty bandits. The movie presents an enjoyable story as well as social commentary on a period of change in Japan.

The samurai are presented as a dying breed. Too many are arrogant and drunk on power and their swordsmanship is starting to be rendered obsolete thanks to the advent of gunpowder. Yet it takes the sacrifices of seven of the best - or perhaps kindest - samurai, who rely mostly on tactics and their intelligence, to empower and transform the farmers into an assertive, self-reliant group.

Kurosawa traces this evolution subtly thanks to his perfect filmmaking. His camera perfectly composes every single frame, his editing is seamless, the use of sound is effective, and his direction of the mis-en-scene - the lighting, sets, and placement of actors - is impeccable. The film is filled with so many ideas, yet Kurosawa manages to extensively develop a number of fascinating characters ranging from the fledgling leadership in Rikichi, to Kambei Shimada's (Takashi Shimura) wise, head-rubbing samurai, to Katsushiro's (Isao Kimura) hilariously rambunctious samurai.

The only aspect I did not like was the love story between Kambei's apprentice and the village woman. This is not because Kurosawa does a terrible job depicting the progression of the love story, but rather because the love interest is a poorly developed character who flies into unnecessary, annoying episodes of histrionic outbursts. Nonetheless, the film is an incredible work of art and one of my top ten favorite films.