Zoku Sugata Sanshirô

I have seen every Akira Kurosawa movie available on VHS or DVD and this is the first "bad" one among them. In fact, I will be so bold as to say I doubt he really directed it. His name is on the credits but I don't see a shred of him in the work. No environmentally framed shots, no contrasts of light and dark, no horizon dividing the frames. He must have done this one with a week of shooting time or a budget of 50 Yen. The comical fight between the Judo stylist and Karate stylist literally made me laugh out loud. It looked like parody. Nothing like the climatic fight in the first Sugata Sanshiro. Also the subtitles were apparently done by someone in China who could speak a little Japanese and a little English. They use the word "karate" for both karate and judo, and since the main conflict is between the two styles, you'd better pay attention to who's doing the the talking or you'll never follow the plot. The movie just about "braked" me.

I saw the Kurosawa's first film, Sugata Sanshiro (1943), many years ago and was much impressed by the story and the spirit of martial arts, thus portrayed. It wasn't my introduction to Kurosawa, however, having already seen Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961).

Now, having seen the sequel to Sugata Sanshiro, one thing is certain: full appreciation for the story within the first film and this sequel is only possible, in my opinion, if you are, in fact, a practitioner of martial arts also – which I am, and have been for thirty years. Note that I'm not excluding appreciation of Kurosawa's skill as a director; that's something that everyone can recognize and applaud. Even with these early films, Kurosawa's trademarks are clear: long silences, tightly framed sets where action moves across and around it, long close-ups of faces, objects and such like, much face-to-face dialog, and music that is generally muted.

This sequel is ostensibly about Japanese-American relationships in 1887, when Sugata is finally seduced into a match-up between himself and an American boxing champion. The film was made in 1945, soon after the Japanese surrender. Hence, the reason for that part of the story line is clear: even in the defeat of war, the Japanese martial spirit remains supreme. It is an understandable need on the part of Japan, and Kurosawa, at that time.

However, Kurosawa, and others involved no doubt, must have realized that there was a problem: the essence of martial arts is defense, not offense. So, it's entirely uncharacteristic for a true martial arts student to actively search out a contest that he knows has usually one outcome only: death for one of the competitors. Hence, Sugata must be shown as weak and indecisive at first so that he falls from grace, in his own eyes, when he defeats the American, who, fortunately, is not killed.

Sugata's salvation, however, as a true follower of the martial way, only comes when he meets the challenge of a karate champion in a fight to the death, during a winter storm on the side of a mountain. That fight scene is so realistic it's almost sublime: Kurosawa has captured exactly how two indomitable spirits stand and wait for the other to make the first move – because the first mistake means death for one of them. Instead, the elements defeat both of them, with the karate master falling down a steep incline when Sugata tosses him over his shoulder. Honor for both, however, is assuaged: they spend the night in a hut together, where both recover from their efforts while the karate master's brother keeps watch.

There's a crucial sub-plot with that brother that I'll leave you to discover because it's a turning point in Sugata's life that actually saves him from death. See this and you'll know why. And savor that final scene when Sugata wakes from his sleep to face a new day and, for him, a new beginning as a judo ka (judo student) and as human being. It's pure Kurosawa as only he could do...

My only puzzlement with this story is the presence of karate students and practitioners in Japan in the 19th century. From the history I've read, karate was introduced into Japan only in 1922 when Funakoshi Gichin of Okinawa was invited to provide a demonstration in Tokyo. However, I'll bow to Kurosawa's better knowledge about his own country and society.

If you practice martial arts, you should enjoy this film. If you're curious, I'd recommend you try to see both.

Though not impressed with the original Sanshiro Sugata I did consider it a noteworthy film in Japanese movie history and certainly had its charm.

The sequel see's our judo fighter hero presented with further foes he must vanquish and more moral dilemmas. Ontop of this he finds himself pressured into participating in an east vs west/boxing vs judo bout.

This sequel was heavily criticized and considered a propaganda film (Of which there were many around this time coming out of Japan). Truth be told I don't understand why or how this could be considered such, there was no military/political motivation to be found.

Inferior to the original? Yes, but not by much. The Sanshiro Sugata movies have their merits but don't deserve (In my opinion) the critical acclaim they recieved. I'm curious what happened with the sequels and quite look forward to finding out.

The Good:

Follows on from the original well

The Bad:

Looks dated even for its time

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Susumu Fujita was reincarnated as Mark Dacascos

Fighting barefoot in the snow for real, there should be an oscar category for such feats!

Due to its anti-American content, this film was never released in the US. Released in late 1945, in the early days of the American occupation of Japan, the movie has a strong anti-American slant. One of the two parallel plots of the film involves the young judo hero, Chee, and his battle to preserve the sanctity of the Japanese arts against the encroaching, brutish influence of American boxing. Americans are portrayed as a bunch of creeps. Eventually, Chee vanquishes the American champion to the wild cheers of his countrymen. This is by far the most interesting material in the film.

The judo vs boxing plot runs alongside a more pedestrian story: Chee is challenged by the brother of the karate master he vanquished at the finale of the original film. This story is a virtual carbon copy of the original, but with few of the original's charming nuances. The climactic final battle -- which takes place on a snow-covered moutainside -- is a pale imitation of the original's finale, which took place in a field of high grass.

The film also suffers from some of the same choppiness and fuzziness of narrative line that affected the original film, and a few other of Kurosawa's early works. Still, it's an entertaining effort. And it's remarkable as one of only two sequels Kurosawa ever filmed (the other being SANJURO, his follow-up to YOJIMBO). It appears Kurosawa learned from the experience of making SSP2 -- SANJURO is much more different from YOJIMBO than SSP2 is from its original, and a far more effective film than SSP2.

The martial arts are so dominant in Asian cultures. Kurosawa uses them in most of his films. This is the sequel to his first film, starring the same actor and character. It is rather talky. For some reason there are American sailors all over the place (I haven't had the time to investigate why so many were there in the time period shown). They have brought their great boxer, I suppose, to make them look idiotic, using fighting for profit rather than as a spiritual endeavor. Sugata is a folk hero and carries a lot of weight. When he sees a fellow martial arts expert beaten to a pulp, he feels he must do something to bring respect. Along the way, he becomes so famous (like a successful gunfighter) that the negative element wants a piece of him. There is just something lacking in this and is not the best Kurosawa (although he certainly was learning).