The Last Samurai

I say to L: Kurosawa won a prize for a film he made before this one, called Rashomon, about a woman raped by a bandit; in that one he tells the story 4 times, & it’s different each time someone tells it, but in this one he did something more complicated, he only tells the story once but you see it from about 8 points of view, you have to pay attention the whole time to see whether something seems to be true or is just what somebody says is true.

He says: Uh-huh. He is murmuring snatches of Japanese under his breath, & also reading the subtitles out loud.

3 doesn’t have to pass the test. Shichiroji is an old friend of Kambei’s. He’d given him up for dead.

Gorobei finds 4 chopping wood to pay for a meal. Heihachi is a second-rate swordsman but he’ll keep them in good spirits.

Kambei and Katsushiro come across two samurai stripping bamboo poles for a match.

The fight begins. A raises his pole and pauses. B holds his pole over his head and shouts.

A draws back his pole in a beautiful sweeping movement, and pauses. B runs forward.

A raises his pole suddenly and brings it down.

B says it was a draw.

A says he won. He’d have killed him with a real sword. He walks away.

B wants to fight with swords.

A says he’d kill him, it’s stupid.

B draws his sword and insists.

A draws his sword.

He raises it and pauses.

B holds his sword above his head and shouts.

A draws back his sword in a beautiful sweeping movement. B runs forward.

A raises his sword suddenly and brings it down. B falls down dead.

I would like to watch the rest of the film, but there is Advanced Angling to consider. I tell L that I have to go downstairs & put the heater on to type, & that he will have to stay in bed and watch the video. Of course he instantly begs to come too. I say You don’t understand, we need £150 for the rent and £60 for the council tax, that alone is £210 and as you know I make £5.50 an hour before tax, 210 divided by 5.50 is approximately 40—

38.1818

38.1818, fine,

18181818181818

the point being

1818181818181818181818181818

that if I work 10 hours a day for the next 4 days I can get the disks in Monday, we’ll get the cheque on Friday, and we can pay two bills, and if we stretch out the £22.62 we now have in the house we can also buy food.

The master swordsman isn’t interested in killing people. He only wants to perfect his art.

I can’t work with you downstairs. I know you don’t mean to distract me but you do.

I just want to work.

Yes but you always ask questions.

I promise I won’t ask questions.

That’s what you always say. You stay here and watch Seven Samurai and I’ll go downstairs and do some work

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kambei doesn’t want to take Katsushiro. They can’t take a child. Rikichi wants to take him. Gorobei says it’s child’s play. Heihachi says if they treat him as an adult he’ll grow into an adult.

I’m sorry but it has got to be done. You don’t have to watch Seven Samurai, if you would rather just sit in bed you can. Do you want me to turn it off?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kambei gives in. 5 has never fought before.

All right then, I’ll see you in a little while.

PLEASE let me come

I’m sorry

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

6 is standing at the door. The master swordsman has decided to come. You never know why Kyuzo changed his mind.

PLEASE let me come PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I PROMISE I won’t ask any questions I PROMISE

No.

I went downstairs and turned on the computer and I typed in a piece about angling in weed and another on bait. For the whole hour I could hear him howling upstairs, to a background of the samurai theme. At last I couldn’t stand it.

I went upstairs and I said All right, you can come downstairs.