The 7 Samurai

The 7 Samurai is a truly epic film that holds weaves concepts into its story that are not just relevant to understanding history or tradition but also have an intense relevance to modern japan and the questions of old tradition at large. The movie begins with a group of villagers overhearing bandits discussing plans to raid their villager after the harvest, after escaping with the information the village elder is consulted whereupon he advice’s a scouting group to seek out hungry samurai as the village has no money to provide. With no success the scouting group comes upon a village completely take by dismay in the face of a dire situation. A lunatic has taken a baby hostage and threatens to kill it if the place he resides in is breached. In desperation one of the villagers asks a samurai for his help. The samurai named Kambei almost surprisingly agrees to help the villagers ,with a couple of rituals and a few words Kambei makes swift work of the bandit. The scouting party being incredibly intrigued by his performance asks for his assistance in matters of dealing with the bandits. Kambei agrees showing himself to be a very honorable man and exemplary samurai but the confines of the concepts surrounding what makes a legitimate samurai and what doesn’t become shakier as the film progresses. Along the story of the film Kambei gathers 6 more warriors to his efforts, all of which vary incredibly when it comes to their character, composure and even experience as a warrior. Kyūzō for example is regal in that he carries with him an intense resolve that is expressed through his intense face and unmatched swordsmanship and then there is the opposite of the spectrum as shown by Kikuchiyo a hot headed warrior who although carries with him many endearing qualities to his character suffers from many moral dilemmas due to his impulsive nature. in the end through much adversity the diverse group of warriors is able to stave off the bandits but in the process the villagers loose their trust of them and kick them out of the village. Nochimson points out in her Book “World on Film” The process of a group composed of morally attuned but imperfect warriors rising to the occasion for a noble cause puts many of japans issues of tradition in to question. Even when a certain group seemingly can coexist with another through noble actions the barriers of class still get in the way, an issue still relevant to Japan and the rest of the world (Nochimson,2010,P.220).