Hidden Fortress (1958)

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Tishiro Mifune

***

Consistent with the other Akira Kurosawa films I've seen, Hidden Fortress has a structured story, defined characters and unprescedented filmmaking. Unlike his other films, however, Hidden Fortress didn't really have me hooked from beginning to end. I did come to care about what happened the characters and I continue to marvel at the way Kurosawa makes filmmaking look so easy but I can't honestly say I was truly invested in this one.

A theme I'm beginning to notice, at least in the last three of his films I've seen is that Kurosawa likes to shift perspective, not necessarily in the Rashomon style, but his "main character" often changes throughout the film. In Hidden Fortress, we open with two bafoons, for lack of a better word, who on their way around the gaurded border of a territory in which they are trying to enter find a piece of gold, one piece of the 200 that are hidden in sticks surrounding a hidden fortress. The good guys and the bad guys in this film, while clearly distiguished, still ends up being slightly confusing only because it somewhat relies on the audiences familiarity with the region in which the film takes place, in addition to the clans, or the armies that patrol it. Fortunately, those details are less important than the greedy personalities of Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matakishi (Kamatari Fujiwara) who when things are rough for them are the best of friends, but when a fortune of gold is before them, they'd fight to the death for a better share.

Tahei and Matakishi's incencent fighting over a few pieces of gold slows their journey enough to be caught and essentially then slave driven by Rokurota Makabe (Tishiro Mifune) who has other plans with for the gold. We, like Tahei and Matakishi, are led to believe that Makabe is just as greedy as they and not only does he intend to keep the 200 pieces of gold but he also has plans to capture and turn in one Princess Yuki for the 10 gold piece reward. On the contrary, Makabe is actually General Rokurota Makabe and is loyal to the Princess to the point where he sent his own sister to pose as a double of the princess. These intersecting stories and contrasting characters makes for an interesting journey through the mountains to safety. Ultimately, their goal is to transport the Princess, who disguises herself as a mute, and if possible, the gold.

Along the way, intense, humorous and engaging circumstances unfold, all of which are entertaining, none of which really seemed to move the story forward, something which Kurosawa normally does so well. It didn't take long before it just got old and boring everytime Tahei and Matakishi tried to escape with the gold. Everytime their plan was ill conceived and futile. Yes, as a result, the group was often presented with a new conflict and that at times was humorous, but the biggest problem still persisted. Makabe seemed less interested in the gold than he was in the Princess as he never seemed too stressed about losing any and he only kept Tahei and Matakishi around to move it... so why keep them around if they just kept causing trouble. Well, without them, there wouldn't be much of a movie and while its a movie made up more of individual scenes, it was still necessary for all these characters to interact.

Some of these scenes were spectacular. In a duel between Makabe and an enemy leader was shades of The Good, the Bad and The Ugly and Kill Bill. The patience Kurosawa has, knowing that he already has his audience hooked just by having the great Tishiro Mifune there and about to fight, is what makes the scene so compelling. The fight itself is nothing great, but Sergio Leone and Tarantino both ended their fights almost before they started in their films. Its the build up that makes it work, perhaps because we have seen much less of that than of fight sequences.

Another scene that really worked for me was the end. Unfortunately, after that scene, the movie ended again, then again. In other words, the movie dragged on a bit too long and reiterated aspects of all the characters that we already knew. I suppose the actual end of the film was somewhat necessary but without it, I don't think the movie would have suffered the way it did having the few scenes between when I thought it should have ended and when it did. Hidden Fortress is full. Kurosawa, like always, leaves no stone unturned and makes an elaborate movie with complex characters seem simple in the way he masterfully composes them. However, I can only love the filmmaker so much, I too have to love the film in order to give it emmense credit. Hidden Fortress is a good movie and a worthwhile watch, but its not Kurosawa's best.