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).
Review of Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two
