Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa)

7/11/15

3/4

Akira Kurosawa must have defined, and essentially created, Japanese cinema. That's my explanation for the legacy of these films of his, three of which I've seen: Ikiru, Rashomon, and now Seven Samurai. Seven Samurai felt like classic Hollywood; something like a Japanese Gone with the Wind or Titanic. It was the monumental, culture-constructing epic that defined its national film industry for years to come. At least that's my guess. It thus wasn't as I expected: it wasn't very intellectual, didn't feel like "high art". It did feel like a great movie, a spectacular one in fact, and so I still have high regard for Kurosawa, but he hasn't shown up as the genius intellectual that I expected given his reputation.

Nevertheless, my lasting impression given by his Seven Samurai, named by Empire as the greatest film of world cinema, is this: here is a truly enjoyable and accessibly great Japanese film! I was surprised to find characters I could empathize with, some appealing humor, and some actors who wouldn't be totally lost in modern-day realism! The much-disdained Rashomon-style acting is certainly present, but my realization was that that's only slightly the underlying culture for 1950's Japanese acting: the characters in which it's extremely present are I think intentional overactors. Rashomon's "bandit", I think, pops up here and has exactly the same mannerisms, but it's mostly just him who behaves like that. Others have other charicatures, but then there are some actors, like the lead in Ikiru who ends up being the most prominent feature here, who are composed and relatable.

Therefore, I no longer find it appropriate to generalize that all of old Japanese film is depressingly overacted and inaccessible. Seven Samurai provided quality enjoyment for all of its 3 1/2 hours, ending with a decisively impeccable shot. Unfortunately, nothing in the film beforehand was so artistically sublime, but the film as a whole was easy to appreciate and experience. A great film.



Okay, this is much better than Titanic, and I'm sure it's much better than Gone with the Wind. Seven Samurai trumps Hollywood, by far, in my mind. The essence of my point was that this film doesn't bask in philosophy, nor transcendental experience, as Bergman does. Seven Samurai was a terrific film, as a film. Not as high art. Yet this doesn't demean it for me: it is a monster in my mind, both for its length and its impact. Hollywood has not produced anything that I respect this much.