Sanjuro

Year: 1962

Grade: A

Country: Japan

Director: Kurosawa

Review

the best sequel ever? yojimbo is a great film, but, and i’m going out on a limb here, i think that sanjuro is better. even though it was my first time watching this movie i feel i gleaned more from it, on all sorts of levels, than i did watching yojimbo two or three times. both films have the ability to function as both “high and low” art at the same time. “high and low” in quotes because that’s another kurosawa film i plan on seeing…i’m so clever. seriously though this film really does succeed in both entertaining its viewers and challenging how we think about the traditional roles of a hero. the conclusion in this film is more substantial than that of yojimbo. this marks only the third kurosawa film i’ve seen (rashomon, sanjuro, and yojimbo), but it’s pretty evident already that this guy has earned the respect he has gotten over the years. i love both the fact and way that he deals with the psychology of all the characters…it’s infinitely interesting and easy to see why he is studied so much. very recommendable film.