brianberta Review of The 47 Ronin

The 47 Ronin (1941)

Not an easy watch, but fascinating when you factor in historical context.

[7/10 · 10 September 2023]

Not an easy watch and not the kind of film I can see myself revisiting anytime soon, but as a subversive film which broke just about every rule I expected it to follow when I first discovered it, I found it pretty fascinating. Reading the plot summaries for the film, one may find potential for it to predate "Seven Samurai" in terms of scope, but what you instead get is practically no action and nearly four hours of conversations about what's either going to happen or what has already happened offscreen. Reading this, you've likely already written the film off, but while I wasn't always engaged by the unrelenting theatrical conversations, I still enjoyed witnessing the breadth of details discussed in the film, like the numerous characters both directly and indirectly involved in the plot, the intricacies of them planning their revenge, or the way their plan conflicts with their code of honor. This manages to give the sense that the environment is fully formed, even if you don't get to see much of it. Which is a rather impressive feat given this is essentially an action-less action film. If you're still baffled by the film's tone though, reading up on the historical background provides some additional context to its uncompromising style. During WWII, Mizoguchi was forced to create this film by the government. They wanted it to be a propagandistic film which would double as a morale booster and as justification for the expansionism and imperialism Japan was involved in during the war. Given this background, completely omitting action from the film could be read as a subversive move by Mizoguchi so that he could simultaneously comply and disobey his orders by the government. This also gives a double meaning to the opening preface of "Defend the Homes of Those Who Fight for a Greater Asia" in the opening, in the sense it's referencing the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (GEACPS), a pan-Asian union which was formed in an attempt to resist the threat of imperialism during WWII. So, while I'd still put this film in the "I enjoyed thinking about it later more than actually watching it" pile, I would still recommend it if you think you're up for the task.