Seven Samurai’s plot is about just that: seven samurai. The film, after establishing that 40 bandits are planning to raid a small village after their harvest, spends the next hour or so pioneering the “getting a team together” trope that dominates action movies to this day. While these types of films are normally defined by quick cuts and montages, Seven Samurai instead opts for a slow, methodical approach that explores both the characters and the culture of Japan during the 1500s. The villagers eventually settle on hiring 7 ronin, masterless samurai, to defend the village. This plot, while being simple in principle, is a vehicle for an epic tale that rivals the Iliad and the Odyssey.
If the 3 hour and 27-minute-long runtime doesn’t convince you of the films epic scope then surely the fact that it was the most expensive film made in Japan up to that point should. Despite this, however, Kurosawa never achieved as much fame in his home country as he did abroad. His style was more suited to western audiences and his impact was certainly felt on western cinema: Kurosawa’s film, Yojimbo is directly responsible for the conception of the spaghetti western and while this is impressive within itself, he did not stop there. Seven Samurai was the first “team-up movie” and while it may be directly responsible for the likes of The Magnificent Seven it is also the great grandfather of Marvel’s successful Avengers films. When one begins to consider the impact of Kurosawa on film one very quickly begins to realize his impact on pop culture and the state of cinema today. Love it or hate it Kurosawa is responsible for the most successful franchise in movie history. Cinema-snob blasphemy aside Kurosawa not only pioneered but perfected the team up.
Kurosawa, beyond pioneering a genre, has managed to fill his runtime with themes ranging from love to war (and everything in-between). I do, however, feel that the fulcrum of this film is the individual: every aspect of this film is underpinned by characters’ wrestle with individuality. This can be seen in both Shino’s struggle with sexuality in a patriarchal society and in Kikuchiyo’s desire to be a samurai no matter the cost.
The film further challenges ideas of class and caste through a clever use of anachronisms in the power dynamics between peasants and samurai. This is Kurosawa’s way of rewriting history: a reframing that aims to account for the variance in culture and a neu-history that challenges the ideas of grand narratives. This makes sense with the films focus on individuality and might be considered its most poignant means of accounting for intersectionality within a cultural framework.
The film forces the audience to question the class system present in the film, history, and our contemporary age. The film expressly connects the importance between individuality and unity and Kambei summarises this beautifully in saying that “by protecting others you save yourself. If you only think of yourself, you'll only destroy yourself.” In this we see the central idea that propels the action of the film: the need for a balance between individuality and community. One must be sure enough in one’s identity to support others, however, not so sure of oneself that one thinks that one can do everything by oneself. The film explores the relationship between these seemingly opposite concepts throughout and each character must attempt to strike a balance between the two. We are provided with ample examples of what happens when a balance is not struck and the ways in which that hurts the individual as well as the community. What we quickly come to realise is that Kurosawa is suggesting that fluidity is key to understanding society and our place within it. The film challenges singular narratives of how we are and ought to be; Kikuchiyo is the most obvious example of this: he is a selfish, ill tempered “samurai” who lacks honour at the start of the film. Later, however, we learn that he is not a samurai but rather a peasant posing as one. We can see in this Kurosawa’s blurring of what we assume something to be and what it is. The line continues to be blurred through certain characters acting “unusually” for their station: a peasant will act as if they are better than someone else whereas a samurai will act generously. In this Kurosawa highlights the universality of humanities’ qualities and how there are no concrete archetypes of man.
Kurosawa uses his cinematography as a means of highlighting aspects of his themes and every detail is intentional. There is so much texture and life in each shot and the sharp contrast of black and white beautifully juxtaposes the “grey” message of the film. Characters are continually moving to and from dark spaces into light ones.
The most significant of Kurosawa’s techniques to note in this film is his use of “cutting on motion”. Much like with everything else in this film Kurosawa tentatively uses cuts, much like commas and line breaks in poetry, to signify a moment of importance. One such moment comes from a samurai comforting a peasant. The scene involves the samurai kneeling and instead of filming the action with one smooth shot Kurosawa cuts to a close-up of the two characters as soon as the samurai starts kneeling: this serves as a way of highlighting the humility and importance of what is happening in a subtle and subconscious way.
Another of Kurosawa’s subtle techniques is his use of axial cuts in the place of long tracking shots or dissolves. Shots will linger on one scene before cutting to the next shot, which is often a closer view of the same scene, this type of cut is used as a means of suggesting the passing of time. This can be noted in the beginning of the film wherein the peasants are crying, and we are greeted with a long overhead shot. The camera, after a while of wailing, cuts to a closer shot of the peasants and then cuts for a second time to a close-up where the dialogue finally begins. This serves as a means of highlighting how long the peasants have been grieving and creates an uneasy atmosphere among the audience as you are not simply treated to an understanding of the scene, but you are slowly emerged in it: you begin to feel what they feel and that creates discomfort in the viewer.
Sound is the final cornerstone one needs to look at to understand the delicate composition of this film. Kurosawa was attentive when it came to the accompanying music and diegetic sound in his films: the most prevalent technique to note in Seven Samurai is his use of music and sound as a counterpoint to the visual and storytelling elements. Sound plays the part of creating irony within Kurosawa’s work. This is apparent when the village is being slaughtered at the beginning of the film and one hears the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the background. The serenity of nature, in this case, serves as the soundtrack for brutality and mayhem. This small detail holds in it a world of meaning and provides room for ample analysis and discussion.
Behind every cut, line of dialogue and movement there is meaning. This film reminds me, in many ways, of a haiku and how every choice must be intentional. Despite its long run time, every second serves the overall experience and mood of the film. This is certainly not for everyone but if you are looking to be challenged or you wish to see poetry personified then I would recommend this film to you.
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