In the middle of a war, two peasants trying to escape the fighting stumble across a man who persuades them to help him move his gold to a safer area. He turns out to be Rokurota Makabea, a famous general in the army of Akizuki, the invaded country. The two peasants scheme to enrich themselves at the General's expense, but he foils their every attempt. However, he is also transporting someone more precious than gold - Princess Yuki, the heir to the Akizuki throne. There is a bounty on her head and the journey will be a perilous one.
Not Akira Kurosawa's best work - far from it. Pretty slow-moving and dull, with little profundity or grittiness. Essentially one long, linear road movie.
Starts off slowly and never seems to find even second gear. Every scene gets drawn out to the max. No real focus either, just a long winding walk of a movie.
Making things worse is the presence of the two peasants. Incredibly irritating and silly characters, they are largely responsible for the movie feeling so lacking in substance. Whether through bad writing, direction, casting or performance - I suspect a combination of the four - they have a profoundly negative impact on the movie.
Not Akira Kurosawa's best work - far from it. Pretty slow-moving and dull, with little profundity or grittiness. Essentially one long, linear road movie.
Starts off slowly and never seems to find even second gear. Every scene gets drawn out to the max. No real focus either, just a long winding walk of a movie.
Making things worse is the presence of the two peasants. Incredibly irritating and silly characters, they are largely responsible for the movie feeling so lacking in substance. Whether through bad writing, direction, casting or performance - I suspect a combination of the four - they have a profoundly negative impact on the movie.