Yojimbo
用心棒
1961JapanLanguage: jaDirected by Akira Kurosawa★ 8.1
Available in English: subtitled
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Themes and style
Tone
dark comedytensecold and detachedabsurdist
Pacing
methodicalescalatingslow build to explosion
Story
con deceptionsurvivalpursuit
Emotion
loyalty under pressurefiguring out who you arerage
Themes
class and moneycorrupt institutionspoverty
Feel
rewatchablecrowd pleasercerebralfun scary
Violence
moderate