Part of my Akira Kurosawa Marathon

Kurosawa only made one sequel before this one, but they are very different. In Sanshiro Sugata Part II he had nothing new to say, only pushed by the studio to make it following the success of the first one. The studio also pushed him to make Sanjuro, but Kurosawa found a meaningful (and different) message to tell. 

This time out Sanjuro helps a group of young samurai to free up a chamberlain from a corrupt superintendent. The setting is not an old small town anymore, but a castle city, in particular two adjoining mansions. 

The villains are also an upgrade, this time they’re just as smart and cunning as Sanjuro. His plans are often foiled by the villains in very intelligent chess-like moves. 

Even Sanjuro is different deep down. On the surface he has the same look and mannerisms. However there is one huge difference: he tries not to kill anyone. All his plans are made in order to trick the villains into either giving him information or go in the wrong place and leave the chamberlain unprotected. He does not plan to kill anyone. 

When he does kill someone it’s because he was forced to. First it was because the boy samurai didn’t trust him and got themselves caught. So he had to kill some people to save them. At the end of the film, he’s forced to duel Muroto, but his victory is a tragedy in his eyes. 

The boy samurai are constantly laughed at by Sanjuro (and the audience), always making the wrong choice, reading the situation completely wrong. They’re naive and they represent the young audience, who think that violence is cool. Kurosawa wants them to learn that things are not as they seem on the surface (Sanjuro, the chamberlain/superintendent, etc...), but they’re not getting it, not even at the end. 

I actually think this message is better than the original, while at the same time being a very fun and entertaining film, both in the humor and the action and cunning moves. Another big success for Kurosawa and Mifune.