Yojimbo

=**Yojimbo** **(1961)**=
 * Director:** Akira Kurosawa

__** Plot Synopsis: **__

//Yojimbo//, also known as //T////he Bodyguard,// is a period drama set during post-feudal Japan, and is one of Akira Kurosawa's most popular films. This visually stunning and darkly comic masterpiece tells the story of an unemployed, but highly skilled samurai who wanders into a small town ravaged by two competing gangs. The two gangs each try to hire the deadly samurai as a bodyguard in hopes of overthrowing each other. The samurai, seeing an opportunity to exploit this situation before him, offers his service to both gangs, all the while strategically maneuvering the gangs against each other in hopes of letting the two gangs destroy themselves eventually.

Although it initially seemed like the samurai was exploiting the town for his own good, it soon becomes apparent that the samurai is simply trying to clear the town of the corrupt and the evil.The town and its residents needs peace, tranquility, and it also needs to be free of the corruption and evil that have plagued it for so long; the samurai arrives to fulfill the town's needs; he **wants** to rid the town of the warring factions.

__**Theme and Tone:**__

Throughout the entirety of //Yojimbo//, the motives and intents of the samurai remains largely a mystery; there does not appear to be one clear-cut explanation of his action. When he first arrives into the town, he seems to be most interested in exploiting the situation for money and reward, but as the film progresses, it becomes apparent that the samurai is not concerned about monetary needs, as he is seen performing good deeds and delivering justice. Therefore the only clear-cut explanation for the samurai's actions is his strong sense of righteousness and justice. Based on the needs of the samurai, the theme could be seen as: The samurai **needs** to see the return of honorable moral values and hard work, and he also needs to expel the materialistic values from the town. Most of the residents of the town are all motivated by monetary rewards and materialistic needs, and believe that money and manpower can solve everything. Those who disapprove of such detrimental behavior and values are too afraid to speak up against the authority (portrayed by the two gangs). In short, this materialistic value is causing the crumbling of society. The samurai is here to bring back honor and the people's voice of defiance by removing materialistic needs and oppression.

Despite the raw and graphic portrayals of violence on screen and a serious theme, the tone of //Yojimbo// is surprisingly upbeat and darkly comic, reinforced with comedic music in sync with exaggerated movement/expressions from the actors. The darkly humorous music juxtaposes with the onscreen violence and serious theme, portraying the madness and lunacy the town has descended into, creating a deranged and darkly comical tone. Apart from humorous tone created by music, the film also evokes a feeling of isolation and desolation, created by the setting and the shots.

__**Elements of Mis-En-Scene**__

The most blatantly obvious purpose of costumes is to identify an actor's or actress's role and identity in the film. However, costumes often play an integral role as part of mis-en-scene in films and are frequently used to emphasize thematic elements, as demonstrated in //Yojimbo//. //Yojimbo// takes place more than two-hundred years ago in post-feudal Japan, when the popular attire of the time consists of robes and kimonos, and sure enough, all costumes worn in the film are traditional Japanese attire. The samurai is dressed in a simple, uni-colored robe decorated with two small coat-of-arms emblems on the chest, typical of what noble samurais wore. Yet despite the formality of the samurai's robe, the samurai is often seen wearing the robe "wrong", keeping his arms inside the front of his robe and letting his empty sleeves flap in the wind. The ironic paring of the formal and simple attire with the samurai's aversion of its sleeves creates a hooligan-like quality to the "noble samurai" stereotype, and emphasizes that honorable morals and values of the past are slowly deteriorating (the main thematic element of the film). Near the end of the film, however, the samurai is seen wearing his sleeves in many scenes, indicating the return of honorable values. The bulk of the men belonging to the two factions are hilariously dressed in torn, mismatched pieces of loose garments, establishing their role as hooligans and thugs, and also establishing the chaos caused by a society free of honorable values. The neat, brightly-colored, and largely ornamental robes of Seibei and Ushitora, the two faction leaders, presents their power and status, but also presents their materialistic and shallow values. __The samurai (foreground), seen with his arms tucked inside his traditional warrior's robe (note the empty sleeves). Behind him, the thugs can be seen wearing scraps and mismatched pieces of fabric.__ __Members of Ushitora's gang and Ushitora himself (second from the left) are dressed mostly in bright colored and ornamental clothing. Note the decorative "scarves" and headbands, and also the empty sleeves of Ushitora's brother (center), which establishes him as the samurai's equal in terms of deadliness.__
 * 1) Costumes**

Setting in films are often used to create tones and/or evoke feelings, and in some cases, address themes. //Yojimbo// takes place in a a small merchant town in post-feudal Japan, with the two opposing factions holding their fort at the opposite ends of the town. The town is relatively small and simple, consisting of two rows of traditional Japanese houses separated through the middle by a small stretch of dirt road. Halfway through the town sits a corrupted warden's office and a watchtower, which serve as the boundaries separating the two sides of the town. The simple set-up of the town, along with the traditional Japanese housing, indicates the once existing presence of simple, down-to-earth moral values in society. However, the emptiness of the street, the closed shutters on all houses, and the general desolation of the town indicates the absence of such values. The disappearance of such values have left the town in shambles, since everyone is now in pursuit of materialistic and easy success instead of hard work. The town is often seen under the assault of winds and dusty clouds, which emphasize the danger and impure values of the town. However, after the samurai had dispatched the remaining men in the town and eradicated evil, the winds and dusts cease, signaling the "cleansing" of the town and the return of hard work and values. __The town:simple, desolate, obscured with dust.__
 * 2) Setting**

Props are one of the most important elements of mis-en-scene, as they often play roles central to the theme of films like //Y////ojimbo//. The most important handheld prop to appear in //Yojimbo//is unarguably the revolver used by Unosuke, Ushitora's brother. At the time, the thinking of the Japanese society begins to change with the beginning of Western influence and their weapon technology. It is with the introduction of firearms that Japanese society begins to move towards preferring quick and easy methods of acquiring success, than doing honorable hard work (represented by the samurai). No longer are the skills and swordplay of the samurai dangerous, as an inexperienced hothead with a gun could now dispatch him with ease quickly. The gun represents the society's abandonment of honorable hard work and adoption of materialistic values and viewpoints. __Unosuke gleefully brandishes his revolver.__
 * 3) Props**

​Yet despite the dreadful outlook on the state of the town and the loss of honor and hard work, a spark of hope exists in the form of the samurai, or more specifically, one of his weapon of choice in the final scene. A kitchen knife. __Never bring a knife to a gunfight...unless you're Toshiro Mifune__

In one of the most memorable scenes in the film, the samurai incapacitates Unosuke and his gun with a kitchen knife and slays all remaining thugs in the town. The rudimentary kitchen knife's triumphant victory over the six-shooter indicates the successful eradication of materialistic greed and values, and the return of honor and hard work.

Great films often use frame position to communicate thematic elements with the audience, and //Yojimbo// is no exception. The framing of characters in //Yojimbo// is highly significant to its theme, and is cleverly manipulated to show the gradual return of good values, hard work, honor, morals etc. to the town. For the majority of the film, the samurai is extensively shown fully alone in the middle of a wide establishing shot, with his small but stark outline against a backdrop of grand scenery. The extensive use of wide shots evokes a barren, desolate, and empty feeling. In a way, the emptiness the long shot evokes could represent the lack of honor and hard work from society; there is little if any morality left in the town, as represented by the small size of the samurai's figure in the wide frames.
 * 4) Framing of shots: cinematography 1**

However, as the film nears its end, the samurai is framed with a tighter frame and has a greater presence in the frame; in the final scene of the the film, the samurai is seen in a medium shot, taking up the majority of the frame. The increased presence of the samurai in the shot indicates the return of morals, honor, and hard work. __Note the handle of the kitchen knife sticking out of the robe.__

In another memorable scene in the film, the samurai sits high atop the "bell tower" in the middle of the town, laughing gleefully as the two gangs approach each other. This scene is notable for its use of both bird's eye shots and Worm's eye shots, used not just to portray differing points of views between the samurai and the gang members, but also to portray the theme of the film. In the Bird eye's shot, the samurai takes up a large chunk of the screen, while the gang members teem like toy soldiers below him. Other than being used to establish the samurai's prowess (making him look like a puppet master) and the cowardice of the gangsters, the bird eye's shot also establishes triumph of the samurai in his eradication of criminals and also the triumph of good ol' values and morals.
 * 5) Camera Angles: cinematography 2**

However, the skirmish between the gangs were halted by an untimely visit by a government official, and thus the samurai's triumph was abruptly ended. The failure of the samurai to eradicate evil in one go is shown by the transition to a worm's eye shot from the point of view of the gangsters. In this worm's eye shot, the gang leaders now appear to mostly dominate the screen, showing the corrupt and materialistic views is still present influential in the town. However, the Samurai, although smaller in this frame, sits high above them on the tower in the background, indicating that honor, hard work, and good morals will still prevail, despite the setback.

The samurai is awesome. No doubt about that. His prowess over his opponents are showed in his blocking and spatial relations with other characters. In the photograph above, the samurai is high above both gang leaders, establishing his control and power over both gangs. The samurai's prowess, as shown by the blocking, reveals righteousness and justice's power and status over villainy and materialistic world views.
 * 6) Blocking**
 * 7) Lighting**


 * 8) Acting**

After
 * 9) The Samurai's Last Stand**
 * 10) The Farmer's son**