Sanshiro Sugata was a stubborn young youth went to a city to apply as an apprentice at a jujitsu school. During his first night, he met Yano an action master of judo and a lover of spiritual art. The protagonist in this movie wanted so much to become one of Yano’s students. Besides the martial arts techniques. Sanshiro had to learn also “satori”, an acceptance of Natural Laws. In their ideology, if a person can balance strength and control, then judo can become as a training regimen for the city police. In the story, the lead character gained the respect of his mentor as well as the hand of his daughter’s teacher. However, the conflict began when another suitor of the woman that he loves attempted to kill him in a midnight duel on a windswept mountainside.
To describe this film, it was Kurosawa’s big splash. He based his storyline on the legends of Shiro Sakata In addition, he had employed a fantastic camera trick, with tense and controlled action. Moreover, this film was done when Japan was losing in the devastating war. Actually, this was one action film without a samurai genre. In this flick, you can see how Kurosawa used his God given talent to create a remarkable and excellent editing technique, which was responsible for the well – executed judo fighting sequences with great speed and unbelievable movements. Two particular sequences were magnificent.
The first one happened in the beginning of the film. In this scene, the members of the other jujitsu school, who was their rival. Even though they were outnumbered, Yano managed to beat all his opponents in the nearby river. While the camera was focusing on gang’s pans continuously, the shots of Yano waiting for them to attack, was static. In summation, these contrasting shots were suggestive of the character’s fighting skill, as well as his great physical strength and greater mental of his own self.
The next sequence started with a crane shot of a narrow street where Sugata was surrounded by a treacherous crowd. He then moved back and forth, throwing people into the ground. This scene indicated the metaphor of his rigid training, which befitted him to be called a “judo master. Overall, the film was great and therefore, can be highly recommended.
