Yojimbo

It has been ages since I last watched this film, and honestly, it seems I conflated quite a lot of it with Sanjuro. I guess a revisit was in order then, though I didn't get much more out of it the second time around. Classic Kurosawa simply isn't for me, and this was another good reminder.

A ronin ends up in a small village, where two competing clans have formed. They're holed up on different sides of the village, with the few remaining villagers living in fear of violence every single day. The ronin decides to make the most of the situation and he exploits both sides for maximum profit.

The soundtrack is misguided, the comedy is offputting and 110 minutes is way too long for the simple premise. The performances aren't great either, it's only the decent cinematography and the proper finale that redeem the film ever so slightly. Jidaigeki fans will no doubt love it, I didn't really care for it.