By: Charles Singh
It is no secret that George Lucas’s idea for The Jedi Order stemmed from Japanese Samurai. From their weapons of choice to the code they live by, The Jedi are heavily influenced by Samurai culture. Chapter 4 of The Mandalorian entitled Sanctuary is a direct reference to a Samurai film from the 1950s. The episode draws inspiration from the film 7 Samurai by legendary director Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa is known in the world of film for his innovative storytelling and directorial techniques. He also directed Rashomon, a film that heavily influenced the way Crime films were written and directed in the United States. But what does an episode of The Mandalorian have to do with a Japanese film from the 1950s?
The episode’s main plot point is a tribute to 7 Samurai. In Kurosawa’s film, a village of farmers is constantly attacked by bandits. The farmers pool their resources to hire the help of 7 Ronin(Samurai without masters) to protect their village from the bandits who pillage their harvest. The Samurai are reluctant at first but eventually come to the aid of the poor village. They teach the villagers to defend themselves from the bandits and successfully secure the village.
In episode 4 of The Mandalorian, The Mandalorian and The Child travel to the backwater planet of Sorgan to escape the bounty hunters of The Guild and those seeking The Child. While getting The Child food at a Cantina on Sorgan The Mandalorian takes notice of mercenary Cara Dune. After the two inevitably trade blows in an awesome action sequence, they realize they aren’t after each other. Cara explains that she was a Shock Trooper before deserting the Rebels. After parting ways The Mandalorian is approached by villagers begging him to protect their village from Klatooinians(an alien race). They offer all the village’s money and Mando accepts, using the money to recruit Cara to help.
When Cara and The Mandalorian get to the village, they discover that the Klatooinians have an Imperial Scout Walker. The duo tries to convince the villagers to relocate and avoid conflict but the villagers refuse. Like Akira Kurosawa’s film, the villagers convince their hired protectors that they too can fight to protect their home.
Cara and The Mandalorian train the villagers to fight so they can liberate their village form the Klatooinians. The battle commences and the villagers band together to defeat the invaders. Mando and Cara team up and use strategy to destroy the Scout Walker. 6 decades later Akira Kurosawa’s film is as impactful as ever.
