Classic movie a study of human frailty

Those of us of a certain age, who grew up in the '60s and '70s, will fondly remember the 'Spaghetti Westerns' - so called because they were directed by Italian maestros, often filmed in Spain, and ostensibly set in the American pioneer West.Clint Eastwood, the taciturn anti-hero of '70s cinema, stared in many of those Westerns - one of the most well known being A Fist Full of Dollars.
What is much less well known, is that A Fist Full of Dollars was a remake of an earlier Japanese film, Yojimbo, and I have it on good authority that I should reveal to you that the original is far superior.
You can judge for yourself though at the Tauranga Film Society screening of Yojimbo, 6.20pm, Wednesday, June 8, at Rialto Cinema.
It stars Toshiro Mifune, and like Clint Eastwood he's the acting dynamo which sustains the film, however, in Mifune's case he delivers a far more complex and nuanced performance. We, the audience, are perpetually thrown off the scent trying to work out what he's up to, and why.
The plot setup is simple: two competing criminal gangs are exploiting a small town, and into this swords-barely-sheathed standoff wanders a samurai called Sanjuro (literally "30" - his claimed age). He starts playing off one side against the other, first as a sword for hire for one side, before switching to the other - each time charging more gold for his services.
Sanjuro has the knack of never quite participating in the battles he initiates, and as the body count rises it becomes clear that the competing gangs are on a path of mutually assured destruction. But what prevents this film from being a predictable moral fable, where the hero saves the downtrodden village, is Sanjuro's refusal to fit the hero stereotype.
As he gleefully climbs a bell tower to watch the latest fracas brewing below, he's more like a kid who has poked an ants nest, rather than an altruistic saviour. The townsfolk also fail to fit the stereotype, as many are drawn by the prospect of easy money and are willing participants in their own destruction.
But this overt conflict is really just a backdrop for the main focus of the film, which is an exquisite study of human frailty - and occasional virtue.
Mifune's charismatic performance is fully matched by the rich cinematography of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Every scene is beautifully composed.
And then there's the music. It's an eclectic blend of western orchestra and traditional Japanese instruments. The Tauranga Film Society's programme of films can be picked up at the Rialto Cinema counter, or you can email neale@orcon.net.nz.