Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara
I was very excited to see this film. Akira Kurosawa is yet another name that casual cinephiles like myself who wish to become actual cinephiles are very aware of. Hell, the one film class that I took in college had a textbook with an entire chapter on the guy. He has a filmography that touches on a lot of different subgenres within samurai stories, and his influence continues to be felt today in the endless epic movies that populate the multiplexes...wait, that's an outdated reference in 2021...the epic movies that populate the streaming services.
There are a whole bunch of Kurosawa films on the Criterion Channel, but I decided to go with The Hidden Fortress because I knew from past research that it was a strong influence on everything from Star Wars to Indiana Jones. And...I didn't especially like it. I didn't dislike it, but this was another film much like The Third Man that I found myself intermittently sighing to myself and wondering about things like those weeds that I haven't pulled out of my landscaping yet. I really, really hate the "boring" descriptor when talking about classic movies, and this movie isn't boring. But boy oh boy does it move at a slow pace. With that preliminary backbiting out of the way, let's get to the show.
It didn't take long for this movie to really start showcasing some of its Star Wars vibes. Much like the original 1977 George Lucas film, The Hidden Fortress is told through the perspective of the serfs. In this case it's not a galaxy far, far away but instead feudal Japan where we meet Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matashichi (Kamatari Fujiwara), stumbling bumbling peasants who left their homes to join the Yamana clan in battle only to discover that they were late for the fighting and are now stuck wandering home through the Japanese countryside. Yup, those are the kind of characters we're dealing with here. For what it's worth, the characters are likable, funny and even well-acted, even though at times they're very reminiscent of this:
The titular Hidden Fortress shows up when Tahei and Matashichi discover gold in a nearby river. Said gold is watched over by Rokurota (Toshiro Mifune), the General of the defeated Akizuki clan and protector of Princess Yuki (Misa Uehara). Of course, we don't know any of that yet; it's given to the audience in little snippets in these early stages of the film. Rokurota had actually been planning on killing the duo but decides to spare their lives when he learns of their plan to head to a neutral territory by crossing over into the Yamana land first, thus evading a much more heavily-guarded border. It's way more simple than it sounds, believe me.
That's your basic setup - Rokurota is tasked with moving Princess Yuki to a safe area along with the Mr. Derp peasants to carry the gold. Once we get there (and it takes a good 45 minutes), the movie gives us some excellent stuff. The screenplay has some fun with Tahei and Matashichi; they're not quite hero characters, always looking for ways to sneak away with the gold or turn over their captors to the enemy for a big payday. There is also an excellent chase sequence with Rokurota hunting down a group of soldiers who almost find their hidden gold stash, leading to a well-choreographed fight scene with the Yamana General. By 1958 standards, it's Hagler vs. Hearns.
Unfortunately, the best stuff in the film is followed by the worst. I don't know what it is about these early films in the 30 Flicks project with the Act Three drop, but that theme continues with The Hidden Fortress. R2D2 and C3PO run away from the party for what feels like the 17th time while Rokurota and Yuki are captured once again by the Yamana, leading to an endless song number and a slightly underwhelming final twist and action scene. Having said that, it does have a satisfying conclusion, so +2 Fonzie cool points to the movie there.
There were things I liked about the movie. It doesn't have much of a theme to analyze; it's a pretty straightforward adventure tale, to the point that I'm not the only critic (amateur or otherwise) out there to think this is one of the lesser Kurosawa films. It's a very skillfully shot film, with the opening sequence that follows the droids through the expansive nothingness and the fight scene between Rokurota and his rival as standout moments that call attention to themselves. It's also got a memorable score, and the humor in the film - through both dialogue and physical comedy - is surprisingly effective and on point.
Unfortunately, the pacing of this movie is all over the place. Kind of like this review. It starts off fast, slows to a crawl, speeds up again, slows to a crawl, and ends in a short burst. I also think that Misa Uehara's portrayal of Princess Yuki isn't good; she brays all of her lines in a slightly abrasive yell, with her physical acting coming off as contrived and forced. When reading through the credits of this film, I thought that the name Misa Uehara sounded familiar and it was bugging the hell out of me before I realized that I HAD seen the name before - in Ju-On, my favorite horror movie of all time, featuring a very different Misa Uehara (of no relation to this one) getting a particularly good Kayako kill.
With that long, unrelated aside out of the way, it's rating time: ** out of ****. I love Japanese horror films, so I'm actually a little bummed that I didn't love either classic Japanese movie in this project. Call it glandular.
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