One of Akira Kurosawa's many Samurai films. Although that does not place this film under the generic Japanese action genre. Kurosawa's use of an amazing story, and cinematography to support the story, makes for an amazing visual feast.
The main charactor, No Name, is an odd samurai that is in an odd situation. This is clearly shown in the opening sequence when he walks on screen with his arms not in his sleeves and then he scratches himself. The use of rule of third is seen all through out the film even up to the end title.
The samurai places himself in the middle of a conflict, and physically in the middle of the town.
The same can be said about the bartender, this shot contsist of a pan that shows both sides of the bartender suspended in the air.
All these shots hold up to the claim that any screen shot of a Kurosawa film is a work of art. This adds support to the emotional envolvment of the bar tender, and the moral descision that the Samurai needs to make on the subject of the man, his son, and his wife. It shows two sides the problem.
To show that the samurai was not completly integrated into any of the rival families, Kurosawa used shots like this, in putting the Samurai in the FG and the bandits in the BG, creates distance between them.
Akira Kurosawa is known for putting on film EXACTLY what he wants, This wind and dust combination was not by chance. I hate to spoil it, but in the film you can clearly see the nozzle effect that is pushing the dust behind the Samurai in the BG.
