Japanese Events in London: 27th - 3rd May 2009
If you enjoy Japanese cinema then get yourself down to the Prince of Charles cinema to see Seven Samurai 七人の侍. The cinema is hosting a series of classic Japanese films through their feature called, "An Introduction to…Japanese Cinema."

An Introduction to....is a series designed to give fans of Japanese film a chance to experience classic and influential films on the big screen. Coupled with talks by leading writers on World Cinema, the events in this series also serve as an introduction for those who have an interest in finding our more about Far Eastern cinema. This event, focusing on Japanese cinema, features Akira Kurosawa's seminal work Seven Samurai, often cited by directors and film critics as the most influential film of all time.

Quick outline of the plot: In 16th century Japan, farmers in a small village face the prospect of again losing their crops to a band of roving thieves. Their solution is to go to the nearest city and see if they can hire samurai to protect them. The farmers are poor and can only offer food and lodging but they soon recruit Kambei Shimada who determines that they will need a total of seven samurai to properly guard the village. Slowly, he recruits other samurai for their task and once complete, move tho the village. There they teach the farmers basic self defense and fortify the village itself. When the bandits attack, they are prepared but suffer many losses.

According to wikipedia, "Seven Samurai is frequently described as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, and is one of a select few Japanese films to become widely known in the West for an extended period of time. It is the subject of both popular and critical acclaim; it was voted onto Sight & Sound's list of the ten greatest films of all time in 1982 and 1992, and remains on the director's top ten films in the 2002 poll."

How can you not want to see this! We did and loved it. 10/10 Highly recommended.